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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

Helen Webberley - hearing continues

118 replies

ItsLateHumpty · 04/12/2021 00:13

See the original thread here:
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/4288795-Helen-Webberley?

And now Helen Webberley is back in court as the GMC seeks to extend her suspension until August 2022

Gender GP thread starts here:

twitter.com/GenderGP/status/1466049063099510790

GenderGP @ GenderGP
We're covering the hearing re Dr Webberley. There has been a failure of the GMC to disclose the full bundle, counsel for the GMC is explaining this is due to page limits put on submissions.

GMC Counsel is requesting an extension of the suspension for a period of 8 months. Dr Helen's counsel asks why the case won't finish for a year. GMC Counsel says that question is irrelevant to today's hearing.
12:48 AM · Dec 2, 2021·Twitter Web App

And Helens own Twitter here:

twitter.com/MyWebDoctorUK/status/1465727253392805893

Dr Helen Webberley 🏳️‍⚧️🧜‍♀️🏳️‍⚧️ @ MyWebDoctorUK
I have been unable to work as a doctor since May 2017 because of the GMC investigation into my work. The original restrictions were in place for 18 months and that has been extended many times to allow for delays and processes.
3:29 AM · Dec 1, 2021·Twitter for iPhone

OP posts:
vivariumvivariumsvivaria · 30/06/2022 16:22

TWO MONTHS?

What the actual fuck?

Braggiography · 30/06/2022 17:00

Pertinent highlights:

Dr Webberley’s fitness to practise is impaired by reason of misconduct and conviction

Dr Webberley failed to recognise that the treatment she provided to Patients A and B carried significant risks for them if, for any reason, either did not communicate with her for further prescriptions. [He said that] it was wrong of Dr Webberley to not have in place a proper and reliable follow-up system and by not having one, she put Patients A and B at unwarranted risk of harm

Dr Webberley, despite being advised by HIW to cease treating patients, continued to do so for some 11 months, before she stopped following her conviction

Dr Webberley had failed to demonstrate to the Tribunal’s satisfaction that she had developed insight into the concerns identified in this case

Dr Webberley’s pattern of serious misconduct, combined with evidence of avoidance of regulation, give rise to a real risk of repetition in the future, with consequent serious risks to patient safety and that the profession will be brought into disrepute. Mr Jackson submitted that, in the light of Dr Webberley’s lack of insight into her duties regarding registration, her incomplete remediation, and her overt efforts to avoid regulation, there remains a serious and obvious risk of repeated serious misconduct in the future

Mr Stern said that the Tribunal should take into account that Dr Webberley had a ‘heavy workload’ of patients, and that she was unable to identify or secure any further training to increase her understanding of and improve her practice.

the Tribunal found Dr Webberley’s fitness to practise impaired on public protection grounds

Mr Stern said that it cannot be ignored that Dr Webberley was an impressive doctor who had studied extensively in the field of gender dysphoria and who had gone to great lengths to provide good care and treatment to her patients. He submitted that the public would not only understand but respect Dr Webberley for the way she had acted. He added that it is hard to imagine what would have become of those patients if Dr Webberley had stopped treating them. He reminded the Tribunal of Patient A’s evidence. He submitted that the approach Dr Webberley took in relation to treating patients whilst not registered was life-saving. She had probably prevented suicides and self-harming.

the Tribunal did not consider that Dr Webberley has developed sufficient understanding as to the significance of how she failed Patient C ...It therefore determined that her fitness to practise is impaired by reason of her misconduct

Dr Webberley needs to demonstrate to a Medical Practitioner’s Tribunal that she has developed the necessary insight and remediation to enable it to conclude that there is no risk of repetition

She ought not to have plunged into developing an independent online agency without appropriate thought and reflection and preparation. 181. A conviction is a serious matter for a member of the medical profession. 182. The Tribunal finds that Dr Webberley’s fitness to practise is impaired by reason of her conviction.

Dr Webberley was in a very difficult position. Her cohort of patients, who numbered up to 2,000, according to the letter from GIRES, had nowhere else to go. Dr Chaand Nagpaul CBE, the Chair, BMA General Practitioners Committee had written to Professor Terence Stephenson, the Chair of Council, GMC on 12 May 2016 expressing concerns about GPs assuming a role of prescribers in the context of transgender healthcare, which for most GPs was unfamiliar territory. Even if GPs were prepared to issue bridging prescriptions, that would not deliver long term treatment. These patients were an extremely vulnerable group who had turned to Dr Webberley since they were unable to receive treatment from GIDS on the NHS

She'll have to undergo a review to prove she has learned a lesson before her license to practise is reinstated, is that correct?

Sounds to me mostly that there is nobody else willing to prescribe un-evidenced treatments to children, so the buck is being passed to her.

(link taken from here: threadreaderapp.com/thread/1542462571667771393.html)

Signalbox · 30/06/2022 17:48

She'll have to undergo a review to prove she has learned a lesson before her license to practise is reinstated, is that correct?

Yes but I think only in relation to patient C and the fertility issue.

Braggiography · 30/06/2022 19:07

Well, cripes.

I really got the impression from reading that they were saying 'nobody else will fucking do it if you don't let her give them the pills they want'.

DisgustedofManchester · 30/06/2022 19:11

So her care was lacking but still much better than what the NHS was offering? Pretty damning for the NHS and Tavistock

PearlClutch · 30/06/2022 19:26

Yes indeed, Disgusting. It is an unacceptable situation.

Nobody should be accepting this level of care, let alone paying for it.

Faffertea · 30/06/2022 19:42

What an absolute shit show all round.

The GMC has not been fit for purpose for a long time. Doctors who make genuine mistakes under massive system pressures are hung out to dry. Doctors awaiting investigation after vexatious complaints are kept in suspense for years and commit suicide because of it.

And as doctors we have to pay the GMC for the privilege of this.

achillestoes · 01/07/2022 06:40

There’s a reason most GPs resist being involved in the prescribing of cross-sex hormones to kids. It’s because it’s against basic medical ethics.

PearlClutch · 01/07/2022 09:29

achillestoes · 01/07/2022 06:40

There’s a reason most GPs resist being involved in the prescribing of cross-sex hormones to kids. It’s because it’s against basic medical ethics.

I really did get the impression they were openly setting Helen W up as the fall person for all the inevitable lawsuits/flak when this whole issue finally blows up. Which I suspect will be soon.

Signalbox · 01/07/2022 10:13

achillestoes · 01/07/2022 06:40

There’s a reason most GPs resist being involved in the prescribing of cross-sex hormones to kids. It’s because it’s against basic medical ethics.

Plus high risk of being sued. Plus as we saw from the HW case, it's not just about prescribing hormones, there is a whole raft of measurements and assessments that need to be carried out and GPs don't really have the time or resources to deal with such complex treatments on children.

HW is talking about this result on twitter like it's a win. She's spent 5 years suspended. She's got a criminal conviction. She's now suspended for a further 2 months (with a review). Once she is back practising, her insurance (if she can get any) will be through the roof. And she's now got a fitness to practice history so the next time she fucks up it'll be much more serious. Oh and her husband has also been struck off.

I can't imagine that many GPs will look at this pair and think that prescribing puberty blockers to children is something they want to do. And why anyone would send their child to be treated by this person is completely beyond me.

Igmum · 01/07/2022 10:34

Thanks OP. Looks like a split decision with some sane members and Dr Stern happy for her to give children any drugs they want. As others have said, hopefully insurance costs will help prevent future activity but oh dear BMJ.

Faffertea · 01/07/2022 11:00

@Signalbox
I can think of another and I was recently surprised to see him in an online GP forum I’m in.

Signalbox · 01/07/2022 14:25

Faffertea · 01/07/2022 11:00

@Signalbox
I can think of another and I was recently surprised to see him in an online GP forum I’m in.

Oh gawd, if it's who I'm thinking of you'd think he'd steer clear of posting on the internet for the rest of his career.

Ghislainedefeligonde · 01/07/2022 23:41

faffer I’m sure I know exactly who you mean as I’m on that group too…and he’s forever encouraging people to prescribe when everyone else is saying don’t do it!

achillestoes · 04/08/2022 19:28

Helen Webberley has lodged an appeal at the High Court to try to overturn an aspect of her GMC tribunal. The tribunal have ordered her to attend another hearing to explain her own failings in her treatment of an 11 year old she placed on puberty blockers without discussing the risks to fertility with the patient (she says she discussed the ‘fertility options’ with the child’s mother).

Anyway, Webberley does not intend to admit that she failed this patient and is seeking to overturn this finding. The good doctor’s licence can’t be returned until either she admits her failings and shows an understanding of the fact that she can’t repeat these actions (which she won’t do) or the High Court vindicates her.

TheBiologyStupid · 04/08/2022 20:10

or the High Court vindicates her.

Hopefully, hell will freeze over first.

achillestoes · 04/08/2022 20:16

I don’t see how you can argue that it’s adequate to discuss infertility in an adolescent with a parent rather than the child. Assuming the only reason you wouldn’t discuss it with them is that you think they may not be Gillick competent, how are you supposed to assess their competency without talking to them?

Signalbox · 04/08/2022 22:21

achillestoes · 04/08/2022 19:28

Helen Webberley has lodged an appeal at the High Court to try to overturn an aspect of her GMC tribunal. The tribunal have ordered her to attend another hearing to explain her own failings in her treatment of an 11 year old she placed on puberty blockers without discussing the risks to fertility with the patient (she says she discussed the ‘fertility options’ with the child’s mother).

Anyway, Webberley does not intend to admit that she failed this patient and is seeking to overturn this finding. The good doctor’s licence can’t be returned until either she admits her failings and shows an understanding of the fact that she can’t repeat these actions (which she won’t do) or the High Court vindicates her.

That's good news. The longer she's out of action the better. Hopefully by the time she's allowed to practice again there will be safeguards in place (as a result of the Cass Review) preventing her from prescribing hormones to children.

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