UK bans NHS from changing children's gender records

Wes Streeting, the UK Health Secretary, has announced an immediate ban on the NHS changing children's gender on medical records. This decision comes after a review raised concerns about the lack of minimum age for these changes, which could potentially put children at risk. The review, led by Professor Alice Sullivan, found serious issues related to how gender information has been collected since 2015. It reported cases where very young children, including infants, had their gender recorded differently without proper safeguards. This raised alarms over children's safety and the accuracy of health data. Streeting emphasized that children's safety must come first. He stated it was wrong to allow changes in gender markers without a clear age limit. As part of the new directive, the NHS will temporarily stop new requests for gender changes for anyone under 18. The Sullivan Review highlighted how the shift to collecting gender identity data instead of biological sex has led to problems like missed cancer screenings. It called for all public bodies to prioritize collecting data on biological sex to ensure better health outcomes. Overall, the review's findings have sparked discussions around data accuracy in medical and legal contexts, with calls for more thorough reporting practices in police and healthcare systems to protect public safety.