05/11/2024
The British Medical Association, a professional network which represents the majority of GPs and specialist doctors in the UK, has expressed concerns about the validity of the Cass Review into Transgender Health Care, which many people now believe to have been a stitch up headed up by a deranged transphobic character in the shape of the mendacious Doctor Cass. A campaign set up by trans activists, and available at the Change.org petition site has asked for Cass to be stripped of titles that were bestowed upon her by the now discredited and corrupt Conservative government that were wiped out in the recent General Election. Members of the BMA’s Council recently voted in favour of a motion which asked the Association to ‘publicly critique the Cass Review’, after doctors and academics in several countries, including the UK, voiced concern about weaknesses in the methodologies used in the Review and problems arising from the implementation of some of the recommendations. A ‘task and finish’ group, established by the BMA’s Chair of Council Professor Philip Banfield, who will also appoint the group’s chairperson, will pay particular attention to the methodology used to underpin the report’s recommendations. There have been ongoing discussions within the BMA about the Cass Review since it was published; before that the BMA attended meetings with Dr Cass when the review was being written. These, together with the Council’s wishes, have helped to shape what will be a detailed, evidence-led piece of work. The BMA is calling for a pause to the implementation of the Cass Review’s recommendations whilst the task and finish group carries out its work. It is expected to be completed towards the end of this year. In the meantime, the BMA believes transgender and gender-diverse patients should continue to receive specialist healthcare, regardless of their age. The BMA has been critical of proposals to ban the prescribing of puberty blockers to children and young people with gender dysphoria, calling instead for more research to help form a solid evidence base for children’s care – not just in gender dysphoria but more widely in paediatric treatments. The Association believes clinicians, patients and families should make decisions about treatment on the best available evidence, not politicians. Professor Banfield said: “It is vitally important we take time and care to get this work right. This is a highly specialised area of healthcare for children and young adults with complex needs, and as doctors we want to be sure they get the most appropriate care and the support they need. The task and finish group will make recommendations to improve the healthcare system that has, for too long, failed transgender patients. It will work with patients to ensure the evaluation invokes the old adage in medicine of ‘no decision about me without me’. It is time that we truly listen to this group of important, valued, and unfortunately often victimised people and, together, build a system in which they are finally provided with the care they deserve.” Trans groups welcomed the intervention of the British Medical Association which will bring a rigour that was lacking in the original Cass Report.
