Isn't Helen Webberley still prevented from providing services in UK?

[LoveGrowsWhere]

Because she's being quoted as an expert in this article.
inews.co.uk/news/puberty-blockers-transgender-rights-nhs-gender-clinic-uk-tavistock/amp/?__twitter_impression=true

That article also states that a school counsellor told a child they were trans instead of a lesbian. Isn't that 'conversion therapy'?

Yes, Helen Webberley is still suspended along with her husband. She was also found guilty last year of criminal charges including operating an illegal clinic.

hiw.org.uk/healthcare-inspectorate-wales-prosecutes-online-gp

No surprise that they don't have comments open on the article! There are so many things wrong with it...

No mention of Helen Webberley's suspension and criminal conviction. No mention of the suicide last year of one of Webberley's young patients.

And as for stuff like this: Even though he understood he would need to wait, to ensure he was ready for the irreversible changes to his gender identity, going through puberty “devastated him.”

What on earth is meant by 'irreversible changes to his gender identity'?

inews.co.uk/news/puberty-blockers-transgender-rights-nhs-gender-clinic-uk-tavistock/

This article is linked from her twitter feed.
en.brinkwire.com/amp/news/doctor-wouldnt-prescribe-the-hormone-suppressants-iaaf-demands-for-caster-semenya/?__twitter_impression=true
Still described as a GP.
The article seems to be the expert dr saying lowering Caster’s testosterone would be medically unwise.
But Caster is known now to be XY?

That article is a mass of contradictions and frankly a load of crap.

The old chestnut of people's genetic (physical) advantages...

“We’ve all seen athletes with genetic ‘inequalities’ in sport,” Dr Webberley told .
“There’s tall basketball players, swimmers with long arms and large feet, who are all technically considered to be at a physical advantage."

Oh, and apparently there are nasty side effects from the drugs Dr Webberley prescribes...

"This is a hormone treatment delivered by injection. Taking GnRH agonist completely stops a person’s natural hormone production.
Those on the drug can experience hot flashes, sexual dysfunction, vaginal atrophy, osteoporosis, infertility, and diminished sex-specific physical characteristics."

“These are quite hefty drugs,” Dr Webberley said.

“We only have to talk to someone whose hormones are not quite right to know how important hormone balance is in a woman’s everyday,” Dr Webberley told .

But all fine for healthy kids and teenagers...

As regards Semenya - I thought it was advisable to remove internal testes ( if that is what Semenya has) due to the risk of cancer. Presumably doing that would also reduce testosterone levels. So I would have thought that would be the obvious thing to do.

Webberley is suspended by the GMC, so she can't practise medicine in the UK. She would be breaking the law if she prescribed drugs in the UK, because you have to be registered with a professional body to prescribe, and she is suspended from hers. Being quoted as 'an expert' is a bit of grey area though. She isn't breaking the law - anyone can call themselves an expert. She probably is breaching the GMC's guidance on how doctors should conduct themselves but, given that she is already suspended, there isn't much else they can do to her.

Unfortunately, there is also nothing the GMC can do to stop her from prescribing for UK private patients from abroad while suspended. The one silver lining of her doing so, however, is that it makes it highly unlikely that the GMC will ever allow her to prescribe in the UK again. Mermaids will need another fall doc - step forward, Dr H...

She probably is breaching the GMC's guidance on how doctors should conduct themselves but, given that she is already suspended, there isn't much else they can do to her.

Not sure about that. Presumably if she goes too far she can be struck off.

She's already suspended, which I has the same effect as being struck off. It's not permanent, but neither is being struck off in most cases. However,because she is prescribing from Spain while suspended (according to socialmedia), it's unlikely that the GMC will ever allow her to practise in the UK again.

Basically, the GMC is limbering up to throw the book at her about her prescribing but there's not much it can do about media appearances . Retired or struck off doctors often work in the media - you don't need GMC registration.

Makes you wonder why the reporter didn't seek out a free to prescribe in hormone/endocrine therapies doctor.

Interesting to learn the limitations of a GMC suspension. More leeway than I would have guessed.

She's already suspended, which I has the same effect as being struck off. It's not permanent, but neither is being struck off in most cases.

I didn't know that. I assumed 'suspended' meant temporary and 'struck off' was permanent.

Helen Webberley also seems to be continuing to operate her illegal clinic, and the regulators don't seem to be interested. See the last few posts in this thread:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3625515-Patient-of-webberlys-commits-suicide?pg=7

It's not clear who is actually writing the prescriptions for Clear Chemist now, as I assume the Webberleys can't legally do this as they are suspended.

I didn't know that. I assumed 'suspended' meant temporary and 'struck off' was permanent

You're right. What I mean is that the things that she is not allowed to do when suspended are the same as the things that she wouldn't be allowed to do if struck off.

Most doctors would be trying to behave very well at this stage, and to show contrition for whatever got them suspended in the first place, in the hope of avoiding being struck off. However, Webberley has already blown her chances of that by prescribing from Spain (which the GMC will hate, but is powerless to prevent), so she doesn't have anything to lose by winding the GMC up further with media appearance.

Unfortunately, there is also nothing the GMC can do to stop her from prescribing for UK private patients from abroad while suspended.

I have wondered about this. There are some instances where doctors operate on boats by taking patients out to international waters to get around legal restrictions in their countries ((like those amazing abortion ships- see Women on Web) so I guess this is the flip side of that.

But given what we know about the non-reversible and serious effects of these drugs and how easily kids can be influenced online by thinking such drugs are just a ‘pause button’ and fine to take (or how they may be encouraged to believe that if they don’t rush into taking these drugs before the NHS will give them to them, then there is no other way for them to feel better or they will not be able to have a happy outcome as an adult)...
Then doesn’t this mean that current UK laws we have are insufficient to protect children (in particular) but also vulnerable adults who are in the UK?

If there isn’t any restriction about importing these very powerful prescription drugs to the UK or exporting from Spain or there isn’t any requirement to see the patient in person (not over phone or video chat) before doctors in Europe or elsewhere before prescribing these very powerful drugs- or whatever other necessary protections are not currently in place- then don’t we need to campaign for a proper investigation and if needed, dependent on the outcome, new, better legal protections for children and vulnerable adults via UK law?
This is the kind of question to raise with UK MPs, because only they have the power to change this situation.

There may be other routes MPs could take but one way could be that they should investigate how in general young people are getting prescribed these drugs via a Health and Social Care select committee inquiry. That could then also look at how the NHS and UK private doctors are prescribing them which we know whistleblowing UK doctors have raised concerns about.

Then if MPs think this is potentially concerning, and if they don’t like what they discover, they should change the law.

Make a complaint. If I used a medical expert who’d been suspended for the subject they were opining on in an article I’d have been in a world of trouble.

A lot of media stuff like this is just cock-up. The reporter has made a very bad call but while sub-editors can spot a breach of eg court restrictions a mile off, some stuff has to be taken on trust that the reporter writing it has done due process - eg that an expert quoted is the right person to talk to

ChattyLion I agree. Even though the law would be difficult to enforce, it should still be against the law to prescribe for people in the UK when not registered with the GMC or NMC. I suspect there is stuff-all chance of it happening though.

Webberley is still promoting her illegal services via a UK based online pharmacy, Clear Chemist.

www.clearchemist.co.uk/doctor/talk-to-a-doctor

This has been reported to the regulators, but they seem reluctant to take action. They did say that they might do something if they received more complaints (see the other thread I linked to for details). It is astonishing that the regulators see nothing wrong with a UK pharmacy promoting and sending patients to a doctor who is based overseas and who is not allowed to practice in the UK.

Unfortunately, there is also nothing the GMC can do to stop her from prescribing for UK private patients from abroad while suspended.

So is it legal for a UK pharmacy to dispense these drugs to UK patients using her prescriptions? This is what seems to be happening with Webberley and Clear Chemist.

Even though he understood he would need to wait, to ensure he was ready for the irreversible changes to his gender identity, going through puberty “devastated him.”

Female puberty might be an obvious sign that you are female, and many women find female puberty difficult.

However, it's difficult to understand how it would be more devastating than coming to terms with the fact that no surgery or drugs can fully create the effects of male puberty or a functioning penis; or lifelong dependence on drugs in a world where access to medicine is not guaranteed.

Now fifteen, Leo will soon be finishing his course of puberty blockers and start hormone replacement therapy, where he will receive the testosterone that will give him the male characteristics that are in line with his identity.

No, they won't. Neither drugs nor surgery can create a male body.

It is astonishing that the regulators see nothing wrong with a UK pharmacy promoting and sending patients to a doctor who is based overseas and who is not allowed to practice in the UK

Trust me, the regulators hate it! It's a problem with a huge number of drugs, not just PBs.

But they would need legislation to change it and I can't see that happening. Brexit will - ironically - only make it harder because, to be effective, the law would have to be able to impose sanctions on a resident of another country. It's no good just trying to stop UK-trained doctors doing this from abroad as Mermaids & co could just use an EU doctor instead. What is really needed is EU-wide legislation, banning prescribing by a doctor who is not in the same country as the patient. Sod all chance of that happening post-Brexit.

But they would need legislation to change it and I can't see that happening.

So is it legal for a UK pharmacy to dispense drugs to UK patients using a prescription written by a doctor anywhere in the world? Regardless of whether that doctor is fit to practice or even qualified? Because if Helen Webberley can write prescriptions from Spain whilst suspended and have a UK pharmacy dispense the drugs, then anyone else can do the same, even without a medical degree.

But they would need legislation to change it and I can't see that happening

Fair enough XX you are right that the political agenda right now is pretty full with Brexit and a new government bedding in, to say the least.

But regardless of that, which can’t be a permanent situation- when legislation is wrong, absent or insufficient it needs to be changed. The permanent effects of the medical, hormonal and surgical transing of kids (who can’t consent to that, by definition), is going to be increasingly unacceptable to the public as this dogma gets more sunlight and fresh air and the awful human cost to children and young people and women is increasingly revealed.

With informed public and Parliamentary concern for children and young people and women, I think it’s highly likely that MPs would feel the law should be changed.

And even where law change seemed vanishingly unlikely or a struggle of generations- like with women’s votes, abortion law reform or decriminalisation of homosexuality just to pick a few examples.. if people didn’t campaign on it because they couldn’t see change happening then it wouldn’t have happened at all or would have taken even longer. I feel that this is totally avoidable, un-evidence-based harm that is being done so as political fixes go it is really not a massive leap for Parliament to look at this. So it’s a question of alerting MPs to it and asking them the hard questions about why the law currently says it’s OK to treat kids like this.

XXcstatic
I still don't see how it can be legal for a pharmacy to dispense drugs prescribed by a suspended doctor, wherever that doctor is based. Clear Chemist say:

A private prescription is usually printed on the right side of NHS prescription stationer in general practice, or written on headed notepaper, although, in theory any piece of paper is legal. It must bear the name of the prescriber, preferably with his or her GMC number, Practice address and telephone number.

So they would have Webberley's GMC number on the prescription, and a check would show that she is suspended. How is this legal if she is sending prescriptions from Spain, but not if she does so within the UK? Are no checks made on who has written prescriptions and whether they are legally allowed to do so?

Are no checks made on who has written prescriptions and whether they are legally allowed to do so?

Chemists would need access to a database of all doctors in the EU , but I doubt that exists.