Brighton GP using loophole to prescribe hormones to underage kids

[Justme56]

https://www.brightonandhovenews.org/2024/03/27/brighton-gp-is-using-loophole-to-prescribe-hormones-to-underage-kids-book-claims/

Some interesting comments.

Concerns have been raised that the drugs – which stop the onset of puberty for as long as they’re taken – could cause reduced bone density, reduced height, changes in mental health (both positive and negative) and tumour-like masses in the brain. There is little reliable research into possible side effects.
Mat Christian Thomas, an employee of NHS Sussex, tweeted: “As a children’s mental health commissioner who spends every day planning and coordinating for unwell children, I can tell you now the barring of access to puberty blockers is death sentence for some of our trans teens. It is utter cruelty and against everything we in the NHS stand for.”
The tweet was deleted within 24 hours of being posted.

Sam Hall is an author of BSUH Trust guidance on language in maternity: Gender Inclusive Language in Perinatal Services. (Archive version.)

<a class="break-all" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210131184226/www.bsuh.nhs.uk/maternity/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2021/01/Gender-Inclusive-Language-in-Perinatal-Services-BSUH.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20210131184226/www.bsuh.nhs.uk/maternity/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2021/01/Gender-Inclusive-Language-in-Perinatal-Services-BSUH.pdf

https://managementinpractice.com/views/blogs/how-i-went-from-hospital-consultant-to-gp-my-trans-story/

Both interesting and worrying, I've been seeing a few threads popping up on r/MtF recently about "bridging" prescriptions being given to posters from accounts that are self labelled as minors (13-15 age ranges).
Very, very worrying.

Was Brighton and hove not where some GPs were pushing to have gender services dealt with in primary care? So, no need for psychiatry or psychology, just your TRA GP giving you pubert blockers and pom poms?

fucking terrifying

”I had learned about the right treatment for gender incongruence through my own pain”

This is a dangerous conclusion for a doctor to draw. “It worked for me” is no basis for deciding to ignore evidence based medicine.

But the presence of so many transitioned doctors driving this agenda from within the medical profession is exactly why we are currently in this situation.

Dangerous indeed

Startling statement from a doctor.

Imagine that applied to any other mental health issues? Surely there are very few conditions that have one single method of treatment that applies to every patient, and wouldn't the word used be 'most effective'? The word 'right' has echoes of a moral choice.

This is faith based treatment.

I do hope this gets picked up by the national press.

Once again ideology over evidence based practice.

This is a dangerous conclusion for a doctor to draw. “It worked for me” is no basis for deciding to ignore evidence based medicine.

"It worked for me as an adult, after my successful career as a consultant, and after creating my own family," doesn't feel like an appropriate guide to treating children.

Let evidence, not "lived experience" be your guide at times.

Startling statement from a doctor.

You know when a judge uses the word 'surprising' and it means shockingly bang out of order. /That/ kind of startling.

This is how homoeopathy came to be popular.

Placebo effect + reversion to the mean = 'It worked for me'

A doctor specialising in a particular condition due to personal experience is one thing. There are pluses and minuses - increased awareness of the patient experience may improve their empathy in dealing with patients, and dedication to their study vs potential to over-identify with patients, have an emotional response when they need to be objective, and possibly weight symptoms that match their own experience over than those that don't.

Going in up front assuming that your personal experience leads to you knowing better than medical studies would surely constitute a serious breach of medical ethics. Can this person be reported to a professional body?

Can this person be reported to a professional body?

On what grounds? The present state of guidance is a mess because of the lack of evidence. Even when the final Cass Review report is published, it won't resolve much.

Look at the appeal of the MPTS/GMC judgment about Helen Webberley. That's without considering the current state of capture of most professional bodies (see also Social Work England and Rachel Meade) and the judiciary.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-65136838

And no discussion of how this person transitioned late and prior to that was at least able to have several children. Yet presumably happy to now deny that experience to very young females.

I had RSI years ago and was told that there are 2 treatments but they wouldn't know which would work for me until they started. For me it was being put in a cast as the physio was making it worse.

If I was a doctor who then decided that everyone should be put in casts because that was what worked for me there would be hell up. I would be rightly sanctioned for not putting patients' interests first. As soon as you change it to trans then anything goes

On what grounds?
Publicly stating that you're going to prescribe based on personal experience not based on proper medical evidence seems like it may be going against professional standards. Either some kind bringing profession into disrepute, or directly being a risk to your patients by not following evidence based medicine? Absolutely not my expertise though. Only asking the question.

You should have a look at the side effects of the psyche meds vast numbers of children in the UK are prescribed.

Not sure that would suit the anti-trans agenda you're fixated on though.

Once again, all children deserve the very best care based on the best available evidence.

That you seem to think this assertion is 'anti trans' is quite telling.

I'm not sure this really helps you make your point?

Personally I would be worried about SSRI use in under 18s, because of concerns that they can't properly consent and we don't fully understand the long term impacts of psychiatric medications.

One area of questionable prescribing doesn't, in my mind, help to defend an even more questionable area of prescribing!

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/on-the-trail-of-the-gp-prescribing-cross-sex-hormones-to-children-srd3vm89x

I must have missed the posts condoning the continued use of unlicensed psyche (sic) meds on kids?

Perhaps you could quote some, but maybe that won't suit your pro- mutilation and sterilisation of kids agenda you're fixated on?

Archive version of the above article.
https://ghostarchive.org/archive/qMzEl

When I don’t think anything can make me more angry and sad, along comes this.