Tavistock clinic to close as not safe for children

[GettingMarriedAgain]

Breaking news in the Times and Telegraph:

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/e1ed2bea-0e63-11ed-93cf-b011fa7fe86b?shareToken=4fa557c3083dee141defde72e0e53d54

The last paragraph is the most ironic.

It's saying that if, for example, 56 year old fully intact bearded males can go wherever they like because they identify as a woman or girl, why the fuck is it seen as obligatory to sterilise and surgically alter teenage girls and boys before they can get on with their lives with other support?

The entitlement of the former has led to the logical inference that the latter do not have to conform to the gender roles the former insist upon. They don't need to surgically/medically transition, they can just be whoever they feel they are without waiting for years to be seen and then rushed into permanent changes because 'they've been waiting so long, just give them what middleaged men have told them they want'.

Mermaids, saying there has been "untold damage", that they welcome the Cass Review AND have "serious concerns" about the Cass Review:

mobile.twitter.com/Mermaids_Gender/status/1552700140447825920

"We welcome the news that NHS England plan to provide a more resilient and robust gender identity service in 2023 by expanding provision and improving the quality of care received by trans, non-binary and gender diverse young people 

The current provision is not fit for purpose, with waiting times of more than 2.5 years for an initial appointment and inadequate mental health support, and we have been calling for drastic improvements for many years.

We welcome the Cass recommendations and are cautiously optimistic that we might finally see positive change and investment in the current system, after years of pain and anguish which has caused untold damage to the health and wellbeing of trans young people and their families.

We ask NHSE to stick to their promise of a smooth transition, and ensure there is no further delay for those accessing gender identity services in England.

While we welcome today's news, we do have serious concerns with regards to the Cass Review, and while optimistic, need to see that the care pathway provided is indeed a step forward.

We understand there will be a new service specification in due course and will continue to engage with both Cass and NHSE to ensure that this is fit for purpose and does not seek to pathologise trans, non-binary and gender diverse young people.

We will continue to make our concerns heard, and to centre the voices and experiences of trans young people and their families in all work going forward"

I am crying I hope this means my trans kid (who I don't in my heart or hearts think is trans) will get so much more appropriate support before he does something to ruin his future fertility and body.

We understand there will be a new service specification in due course and will continue to engage with both Cass and NHSE to ensure that this is fit for purpose and does not seek to pathologise trans, non-binary and gender diverse young people.

No, Mermaids. Any evidence-based service must not include those that lobbied for and guided the direction of the previous failed clinical service.

This is not your do over: this is the NHS waking up and realising that it needs to create a service that is free of previous malign or, at best, misguided influences.

According to the latest Guardian report (which actually isn't bad - a lot better than their first attempt):
'The London-based service will be led by Great Ormond Street hospital and Evelina London children’s hospital, with South London and Maudsley NHS foundation trust providing specialist mental health support.'

'A second service in the north-west will be led by Alder Hey children’s NHS foundation trust and the Royal Manchester children’s hospital, with both trusts providing specialist mental health services.'

So all eyes on these trusts and on who gets appointed.

www.theguardian.com/society/2022/jul/28/nhs-closing-down-london-gender-identity-clinic-for-children

The sheer arrogance of Mermaids is repulsive. They should have no input at all going forward. None.

I think the misunderstanding we see from trans activists comes from two different conceptions of “gender identity service”. One is theirs, a waiting list that leads to on demand pharmaceutical treatment, ie puberty blockers and hormones. The other is ours, a waiting list that leads to appropriate treatment, ie holistic assessment, treatment and therapy, with a sub-group of children (a group that might be very small indeed) offered pharmaceutical treatment, with robust tracking and follow-up to see if that has any benefits at all.

We’ll have to see which is nearer the truth.

It's certainly a puzzler.

To be fair to Mermaids they're doing what we're doing on here; trying to be hopeful about the treatment offered in these new clinics.

We just have different hopes for this.

There's a lot they're deliberately ignoring to try to be optimistic, and many of us on here are at least a little pessimistic that it will be substantially different.

I'm given some optimism by Kemi Badenochs statement. I'm hoping that behind the scenes they've seen through it and now there is a determination to root it out.

They'll need to be determined though, because those roots in health and education now go very deep and wide. Far beyond the Tavi.

I suspect Mermaids will be disappointed. Cass has been quite clear about the offering at the regional hubs in the letter she sent to NHSE.

Medicalisation looks like it will be the very last option.

cass.independent-review.uk/entry-7-research/

"The centres should have an appropriate multi-professional workforce to enable them to manage the holistic needs of this population, as well as the ability to provide essential related services or be able to access such services through provider collaborations. These should include, but not be limited to: mental health services; services for children and young people with autism and other neurodiverse presentations; and for the subgroup for whom medical treatment may be considered appropriate, access to endocrinology services and fertility services. There should also be expertise in safeguarding, support of looked-after children and children who have experienced trauma. Staff should maintain a broad clinical perspective by working across related services within the tertiary centre and between tertiary and secondary centres in order to embed the care of children and young people with gender-related distress within a broader child and adolescent health context."

I'm given some optimism by Kemi Badenochs statement. I'm hoping that behind the scenes they've seen through it and now there is a determination to root it out.

Yes

Sorry Bread - it was on the BBC news channel - I was just scrolling through earlier and recognised David Bell so stopped to watch

I’ve just had to pull into a farm lay-by (where I have signal) on holiday to cheer and text and generally celebrate, havjbg heard this on radio four. Sanity is reasserting itself. Thank fuck. I just hope the children who have been treated irresponsibly will be relatively okay in time.

Thank you!

The telegraph piece is out:

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/07/28/had-gone-gender-transition-would-have-committed-suicide/

This one, sorry!

Thank God may sanity prevail!

Glad it’s closing and glad that the replacement services are going to look bigger picture with a key focus on mental health.

Those who genuinely suffer from gender dysphoria need the proper and considerate care making sure that all aspects of their health are looked after and considered.

also the worrying disproportionate number of female and autistic patients needs to be looked into,

I’m not sure that those which are vulnerable and exploring their gender and sexual identity are being looked after in the right way and are being led down a path rather than it being a considered approach

Off topic but a friend of mine has been seriously mentally ill recently in the UK which has included a long stay in hospital. Their description of the treatment they've received including care in the community on discharge and the support they've had to try and prevent a relapse sounds similar to your child's experience. They've been very complimentary about it. Less complimentary about hospital food though...I agree that different funding models should be explored for the NHS.

Wow just read that - that is what I feared was happening. Rather than people being cared for they were pushed into a pre described route regardless of their situation

If this means that young people questioning their gender receive more prompt, thorough, attentive care, it can only be a good thing. I just hope the new services are properly resourced.

And I've just seen that the Equal Treatment Bench Book was reissued as a revised version on 14th July to provide exceptions so that victims can't be compelled to use preferred pronouns of violent offenders.

Feels like July 2022 is the month of people seeing sense.

www.judiciary.uk/announcements/july-2022-interim-revision-of-the-equal-treatment-bench-book-issued/

That is deserving of its own thread - that's a big deal.

The Telegraph article is well worth a read too.

In relation to Mermaids and all the other gaslighting adult organisations out there, having read the full Cass letter to NHS England it looks as if their sticky fingers of influence are being firmly prised away from any future influence on the medical care of children. She recommends a national provider research network, all focussed on ethical and medical issues - can't see any role for the self interested adults pushing their personal wishes to transition other people's children?
" • a forum for discussion of complex cases and/or decisions about medical care..
• an ethics forum for cases where there is uncertainty or disagreement about
best interests or appropriate care
• providing opportunities for peer review between regional centres
• development of a programme of ongoing Continuing Professional
Development for staff at all levels, as well as educational standards for
practitioners within the various tiers of service provision
• collation of the national dataset and conduct of national audit
• development of a quality improvement programme to ensure evolving best
practice
• ongoing research in areas of weak evidence
Independent oversight of data collection, audit and quality improvement... will ensure the highest possible standards of data management and
utilisation.

cass.independent-review.uk/publications/

Absolutely should have it's own thread..