The Cass Review- Interim Report

I think the report also speaks to the standard of this forum. Many of the points have been made repeatedly here over and over again for years, with our own research and analysis of research and experience, both personal and professional. No one has listened to us, but they can’t ignore Hilary Cass.

I knew about the huge over representation of neurodiverse children.

I didn’t know about the large over representation of looked after children.

I’m now in a simmering fury over how these children, who already have enough to cope with in life, have been steamrollered over by the ideologues and cheerleaders

And nobody thought to stop and say “hey, we really are getting a lot of kids with very complex needs through the doors, aren’t we?”

No, that’s not fair. Plenty of people there did, or tried to. Then they left because they felt so compromised and unable to give the children appropriate care.

Setting aside my anger over that, the report is a great read. Clear, compassionate, thoughtful.

Christine Burns has a reliably terrible take on it, which boils down to “the t*rfs are pleased with this, what am I missing?” 🤪 makes it very clear that some people really do believe that concerned women and worried parents are motivated by something other than wanting good medical care for distressed children and adolescents…

They are clear they will just attempt to spin it their way every time.

No evidence though. None. As we always suspected.

As Emma Hilton notes of tweet 2:

I am not clear they quite grasp the meaning of this particular recommendation.

Thanks for posting this rogdmum. This confirms what we've been arguing in regard to the serious failures in safeguarding these children.

While I'm glad to see our concerns not merely acknowledged, not merely echoed, but confirmed by evidence, it makes me so bloody angry to think how many children and parents have been failed because ideology was allowed to override the safeguarding standards all other children are entitled to when receiving medical care.

I predict that Dr Cass will be labeled a biased bigot who has been 'got at' any moment now.

I am about to flick through this. But just from what I have seen it is reiterating 'there is not enough evidence to continue this practice' and that all the cheerleading around the world for these treatments should not influence sound medical protocols.

It will be like Baroness Faulkner though when she came out and said women were not transphobic for stating there are conflicts with trans and women's rights and that discussions need to be had. Now look at her fighting to maintain the right to keep dialogue open with all parties involved, for her job and the reputation of the EHRC.

This report is dynamite... How will Mermaids et al respond I wonder?

Mermaids:

The interim report from @TheCassReview has been published today. It clearly recognises that the current NHSE model is not sustainable considering the delay in access to treatment. (1/4)

Dr Cass makes it clear that trans, non-binary and gender diverse young people deserve the same standard of care as anyone else. (2/4)

Dr Cass also directly writes to young people reassuring them that services will not be reduced or stopped. (3/4)

We are currently reviewing the report in detail and will publish a considered response in due course. (4/4)

As Emma Hilton notes of tweet 2:

I am not clear they quite grasp the meaning of this particular recommendation.

I am feeling so great about this report. It is covering all the issues of concern.

Mermaids are deep in denial on Twitter, cherry-picking things out of context and trying in vain to put a positive spin on this report which must be an existential threat to them.

I hope this report finishes them.

Wow thanks for the heads up! Hoping dc naps long enough for me to read some of this!

This report is dynamite... How will Mermaids et al respond I wonder? Has HC been called a TERF yet?

3.31. The most difficult question is whether puberty blockers do indeed provide valuable time for children and young people to consider their options, or whether they effectively ‘lock in’ children and young people to a treatment pathway which culminates in progression to feminising/ masculinising hormones by impeding the usual process of sexual orientation and gender identity development. Data from both the Netherlands38 and the study conducted by GIDS39 demonstrated that almost all children and young people who are put on puberty blockers go on to sex hormone treatment (96.5% and 98% respectively). The reasons for this need to be better understood.

Scottish government should read this as well

I'm near to tears at the sheer humanity and groundedness of the interim report.

The care of this group of children and young people is everyone’s business. Our initial work indicates that clinicians at all levels feel they have the transferable skills and commitment to support these children and young people, but there needs to be agreement and guidance about the appropriate clinical assessment process that should take place at primary, secondary and tertiary level, underpinned by better data and evidence.

Thank you!

The care of this group of children and young people is everyone’s business.

YES

Downloaded and I've web.archive.org 'd the URL in the OP (can't post or it will be hidden ).

Placemarking to read later, but this sounds very sensible from the highlights above.

The reactions to it will, I’m sure, be very enlightening. I would love to be wrong, but I’ve been in the trenches of this game for too long. The militants will be unhappy, but frankly, they’re lost to reason. It’s the middle ground occupied by the “don’t knows”, the “not sures” and the sensible, rational people who want children with complex needs to receive high quality, non politicised health care who will read and absorb what Dr Cass says.

What a relief. Thanks for posting. This sounds like a reassuringly child-centred approach, not all about validating adults. Will try to read it this weekend.

”Paediatric endocrinologists develop a wide range of knowledge within their paediatric training, including safeguarding, child mental health, and adolescent development. Being party to the discussions and deliberations that have led up to the decision for medical intervention supports them in carrying out their legal responsibility for consent to treatment and the prescription of hormones.”

Looks like the paediatric endocrinologists might find themselves in the firing line, when the court cases begin to arrive.

Glad also to see she uses the terms birth-registered females and males, rather than sex assigned at birth, which I seem to remember she used in a previous update. This is at odds with the ONS definition that she gives on p 26. and various reproduced charts and tables.

This is very damning, considering this is related to an intervention that is supposedly intended to improve the situation:

3.46. NHS England has established a Multi-Professional Review Group (MPRG) to review whether the agreed process has been followed for a child to be referred into the endocrinology clinic and to be prescribed treatment. The Review has spoken directly to the MPRG, which has reported its observations of current practice.

3.47. The MPRG has stated that its work has been impeded by delays in the provision of clinical information, the lack of structure in the documentation received, and gaps in the necessary evidence. This means that when reviewing the documents provided it is not always easy to determine if the process for referral for endocrine treatment has been fully or safely followed for a particular child or young person.*

3.48. The MPRG indicates that there does not appear to be a standardised approach to assessment. They are particularly concerned about safeguarding shortfalls within the assessment process. There is also limited evidence of systematic, formal mental health or neurodevelopmental assessments being routinely documented, or of a discipline of formal diagnostic formulation in relation to co-occurring mental health difficulties.

Will read more later! Thanks very much for the link, OP.

Thanks for posting, this is hugely important.

And they refer to birth-registered sex. Registered not 'assigned'.

Thanks. I've been waiting for this. I think it was due late summer last year. Will have a read.

And all schools?

That's Crispin Blunt MP put in his place, thank goodness. And Caroline Nokes. This report can be cited over and over again.