Citation, commencement, extent and application

1. —(1) These Regulations may be cited as the National Health Service (General Medical Services Contracts) (Prescription of Drugs etc.) (Amendment) Regulations 2024.

(2) These Regulations come into force on 26th June 2024.

(3) These Regulations extend to England and Wales and apply in relation to England only( 2 ).

Amendment of the National Health Service (General Medical Services Contracts) (Prescription of Drugs etc.) Regulations 2004

2. —(1)Schedule 2 to the National Health Service (General Medical Services Contracts) (Prescription of Drugs etc.) Regulations 2004( 3 ) (drugs, medicines and other substances that may be ordered only in certain circumstances) is amended as follows.

(2) In the table—

(a) in column (1) (drugs), after the entry for “Clobazam” insert “a GnRH analogue” ;

(b) in column (2) (patient), after the entry corresponding to the entry for “Clobazam” insert—

“ (1) Any patient who is aged 18 or over

(2) Any patient who is aged under 18 to whom the practitioner is providing treatment under the contract which does not include treatment for the purpose of puberty suppression in respect of gender dysphoria, gender incongruence or a combination of both

(3) Any patient who is aged under 18, and who—

(a) before 26th June 2024, started a course of treatment with a GnRH analogue for the purpose of puberty suppression in respect of gender dysphoria, gender incongruence or a combination of both, and in this context, a person is treated as having started a course of treatment with a GnRH analogue if, on or after 3rd December 2023, that person was issued with a NHS or private prescription for a GnRH analogue, whether or not the prescription has been dispensed or the prescribed GnRH analogue has been taken by that person before 26th June 2024; or

(b) is being treated with a GnRH analogue as part of a National Institute for Health and Care Research clinical trial related to treatment with a GnRH analogue for the purpose of puberty suppression in respect of gender dysphoria, gender incongruence or a combination of both ” .

(c) in column (3) (purpose), after the entry corresponding to the entry for “Clobazam” insert—

“ (1) Treatment for any purpose

(2) Treatment for any purpose other than treatment for the purpose of puberty suppression in respect of gender dysphoria, gender incongruence or a combination of both

(3) Treatment for the purpose of puberty suppression in respect gender dysphoria, gender incongruence or a combination of both ” .

(3) After the definition of “general medical practitioner” insert—

“ “gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (“GnRH”) analogue” means a medicinal product that consists of or contains buserelin, gonadorelin, goserelin, leuprorelin acetate, nafarelin or triptorelin; ” .