Daily Politics from the New Statesman Puberty blockers, blocked
Feb 26, 2026
Hannah Barnes, investigations editor at the New Statesman who covers health and public service probes, explains the paused Pathways puberty-blockers trial and why ethical and safety concerns emerged. She also outlines Baroness Amos's interim findings that England’s maternity system is failing, with staff shortages, inequality and shocking care examples.
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Ethics Committees Don't Review Science In Depth
- NHS research ethics committees are volunteer-run and do not scrutinise the scientific design of trials; their role focuses on ethical approval rather than technical scientific review.
- Committees often delegate decisions to small subcommittees, so complex, high-stakes trials can be approved by very few people.
Small Subcommittee Granted Approval For High Risk Trial
- The Pathways trial's ethical approval was ultimately made by a subcommittee of three people after three written meetings, with only one person present at all three.
- That small, delegated group approved a trial that acknowledges risks like infertility and bone impact.
Concerns Were Filtered Out By The HRA
- Two groups of clinicians wrote to the Health Research Authority raising safety concerns, but the HRA did not pass those concerns to the ethics committee, judging nothing new was raised.
- This filtering step can block external critiques from informing ethics decisions.