On BBCR4 now - GIDS whistleblower being discussed

[1984in2019]

Not sure who is on to defend the service but he is denying all the issues so far...

How can the culture be one which centralises and encourages informed consent and without undue pressure, when they are too scared and its considered too sensitive to mention biological reality?

Exactly! Where there is conflict between biology and identity there is no psychologically sound justification for 'privileging' one over the other! They are both features/characteristics of the YP they are working with and accepting all parts of yourself is a basic tenant of psychological support. How is it considered OK to try and minimise or ignore biology.

It is interesting that many endocrinologists state that administering puberty blockers and cross sex hormones conflicts with treatment protocols for all other areas of medicine. I think the same goes for current treatment protocols for gender identity disorders.

No expert beyond what various courses

The central question is whether GIDS believes that affirmation of asserted gender identity should be the default approach.
The squeamishness around challenge to asserted gender identity rather suggests that they do think that; but are too scared to say so. And what exactly makes someone “genuinely” transgender, in their eyes? And is that a disorder, or not?
So many questions...

Sorry baby finger slippage

Various Sen courses I've been on have talked about 0-3 and then puberty being key large scale reorganisation stages of brain development and the impact of poverty, abuse and also what it may mean for specific neurological conditions such as adhd and asd. I don't know much more beyond that but have read various bits here and there.

There's a lot to do with the hippocampus and amygdala.

I just found this too.

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/hbm.21052

This is also quite a good basic over view with some interesting links to further reading.

www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/hormone-affects-how-teens-brains-control-emotions

Have any parents come forward about what they are told? I assume not, not least protecting their child's privacy etc. But how can these drugs be discussed, still less recommended for minors, unless the parents are told their children are effectively guinea pigs? What are they being told - just that they're fully reversible? Or fully-reversible-fingers-crossed-no one-actually-knows-yet?

Another whistleblower formerly from GIDS has just spoken out on twitter following Paul Jenkins on R4 this morning, disputing what he said.

Matt Bristow, former clinical pyschologist at GIDS.

Will type link but don't know if it will work!

twitter.com/psychomologist/status/1153301937565130753?s=19

Can someone tell me if that works? I can't access twitter on this computer!

Yes it worked Sonic

Pleased so many former employees are speaking out.

Thanks Ova.

I think this juggernaut is starting to turn. The more who speak out, the more who will feel safety in numbers to speak out too.

Why the smoke and mirrors? Why did they not have data for children between 15 and 16? How does that FOI data compare to the graph they published in the BMJ?

According to this FOI disclosure, they don't even keep a record of how many children have been prescribed puberty blockers.

Information about the prescribing of physical interventions, including puberty blockers, is held by the GIDS teams at University College London Hospital and the Leeds General Infirmary, to whom the Tavistock and Portman GIDS team subcontract all endocrinology functions – The collated information is not held here at the Tavistock and Portman.

How can you study it if you don't actually record the key data? How did anyone ever get funding for something that doesn't track actions taken and outcomes noted over various timescales?

I couldn't get 50p of funding for any of my work if I didn't do that and my work doesn't do anything like as controversial as interfere with children's bodies.

So this is now on the front page of the BBC news website.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-49036145

The way they've worded it makes it sound like Newsnight is leading the way in investigating this. Bollocks to that. You can't change history BBC. We have the evidence.

And an earlier article.

Whoops. Link.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-47456938

I've noticed aot of people on twitter (not verified "celebs", but people who have quite public jobs) "liking" tweets about this today.

It's like everyone is crying out for the dam to break and then it's all going to come crashing down under the voice of thousands.

Another piece on Radio 4 Today now. This time they have someone on who is skeptical about puberty blockers.

That was quite damning. Although it could be dismissed as "disgruntled ex-employee".

Marcus Evans: "Political forces have infiltrated a clinical system".

He was very calm clear and measured, highlighting the need for taking time and looking at the whole child, including ASD, difficulty accessing CAMHS and Possible early adverse life events and environment

I’m wondering if the clinicians had to remove their details because they were getting lobbied a lot whether directly by patients or parents or political groups who want them to ‘affirm’.

I am so relieved that the BBC are finally picking up on this because there is no doubt that they are highly influential to people with the power to change policy and the law on this.

Haven't posted on this board before, have only lurked and hadn't made up my mind where I stood but I just heard the appearance on Radio 4 from this man who's a psychiatrist working at that clinic and was so shocked.

How can they be doing this to children? With NO evidence or idea of what the outcomes could be? He sounded like he must have been the only sensible person in the room!

This is the archive link for the Today programme where they will put today’s programme to listen again to, (at some point after it has finished at 9am):
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qj9z/episodes/player

I used to be passionate about radio 4, listened to it constantly

And then I just kind of.....stopped

It felt like they didn’t want me, due to, yanno, me being a horrific terf

Is it possible that I could think about letting radio 4 back into my life.....?

Is it possible that I could think about letting radio 4 back into my life.....?

I don't expect for a moment that the emerging GIDS scandal will prompt the Beeb to reconsider its position on horrific t**fs. They are a fundamentally misogynistic organisation, with the old-school women-haters - who enabled Savile and underpaid/undervalued female staff- now reinforced by the type of gay man who views women with distaste, and TRAs.

I feel similar, Bernard (love the name btw). Used to listen to R4 every single morning, under the impression that if something interesting or important was happening, it would probably happen on Today and I’d be in the loop. Lefties thought there were too right wing, Tories thought they were too liberal, so I figured they probably had a decent balance. I loved Women’s Hour as well. Then the BBC censored Jenni Murray, and their steadfast refusal to engage with women over the GRA consultation broke the spell. I now feel they can’t be trusted to do what they say they do ie present news and current affairs in an impartial manner. They allow their staff to skew content to their own bias, and as they are held in such high regard nationally, that has a lot of influence on public knowledge, opinion and understanding.

I listen to music now, or sometimes LBC - often find myself disagreeing massively with the presenters on there but at least they’re honest in their bias.

at least they’re honest in their bias

Very well put.