Wales also to stop prescribing puberty blockers to under 18s following Cass review.

[Rainbowshit]

www.walesonline.co.uk/news/health/under-18s-wont-prescribed-puberty-29039035

Good news.

Well.

House of cards....

Brilliant. At long last.

The Welsh Government are still captured though.

Thank fuck for that.
No more Welsh children for you monster.

Thank goodness.

Good.

More good news.

Two weeks after the Cass report. Perhaps they read very slowly. Still, better late than never

Baby steps…but great news

Good.

They had to wait until it was translated into Welsh?

Probably waiting to see what the Scottish Government decided.

I can’t find an announcement on the Welsh Government website, and the article says this

“In Wales, NHS Wales commissions NHS England to provide gender identity services for children and those under the age of 17. NHS England announced last month that children will no longer be prescribed puberty blockers. Therefore, puberty suppressing hormones will not be available as a routine commissioning treatment option for children and young people in Wales.”

which makes me wonder if there hasn’t actually been an announcement and Welsh Gov have just replied to a press query from Wales online.

This is amazing news.

There has been very little sunlight in Wales. Welsh WRN women have had scant support and as in N Ireland, much GI policy has been slipped in via the back door.

To Dr Cass and to you wonderful Welsh women, I raise a glass to you 🥂

🤣

Excellent

House of cards indeed

I remain incandescent that it has taken this long to prise them away from an ideology that is causing so much harm to young people. Merched Cymru and LGB Alliance Cymru (among others) have shared SEGM reports, research papers and whistleblower concerns with Welsh Government ministers over many years. They have simply refused to listen. Led by the nose by Stonewall Cymru.

This isn't news and it's very misleading. It's the same position as before the final Cass Report was published and I don't think there's been any statement from the Welsh Government. I'm guessing a journalist rang up with a query about prescribing puberty blockers and they just confirmed what we already knew. There was similar wording in an answer to a Written Question from an MS about 6 weeks ago.

There has never been a GID service in Wales, so whatever puberty blocking protocol they have in the clinics gender distressed children are referred to over the border also applies to Welsh under-18s treated there. So no change.

The most annoying thing about the spread of this story is that it makes it seem as if Welsh Government are doing something concrete in response to Cass. We shouldn't let them off the hook.

This is what Health Minister Eluned Morgan said in March thus year, in response to a written question from the leader of the Welsh Conservatives.

"NHS Wales commissions gender identity services for children and young people under the age of 17 from NHS England. The service is commissioned by the Welsh Health Specialised Services Committee (WHSSC) which represents NHS Wales on the Improvement Programme for Gender Identity Services for children and young people which has been established by NHS England.
^^
NHS England has carefully considered the evidence review conducted by NICE and further published evidence available to date and concluded that there is not enough evidence to support the safety or clinical effectiveness of puberty suppressing hormones to make the treatment routinely available at this time. Therefore, puberty suppressing hormones will not be available as a routine commissioning treatment option for children and young people in Wales who are referred via our gender identity services pathway.

However, NHS England aims to have a study into the use of puberty blockers in place by December 2024. Welsh children and young people referred into the service will also be eligible to participate in the study.

This change will not affect young people from Wales who are already receiving puberty supressing hormones from the NHS. In this circumstance it will be for each patient’s consultant, together with the young person and their family to consider the continuation of puberty suppressing hormones."

Some local papers covered it back then. Seems like Wales Online is a bit behind. It's more of an explainer than a news article.

Thanks for the clarification Enfys. I'm even more incandescent now!

I suspect if you’re a HCP you would not be covered by medical insurance/ indemnity if your practice contradicted the Cass review. All it’ll take would be a lawsuit and you could be financially ruined and also have your state registration to practise removed. Powerful motivators

Thanks Enfys. So the gender service in Cardiff (in St Davids hospital) is an age 18 and over service?

The adult service can accept 17 year olds as well. I assume it's because if they joined an under 18s waiting list they'd be 18 before they were seen.

That service needs to be reviewed as well as the English adult services. It's led by activists. They need to look at how 17 to 25 year old are treated there. Lots of concerns from other professionals that it's just a transition assembly line.

Thinking about it OP, I wonder whether it's possible for you to ask for a change to the thread title or add something to the original post. It gives the impression that Welsh Government has banned puberty blockers for under-18s. As far as we know this is just one article picking up on a policy that's been in place for some time. Once the England-based services stopped prescribing them there was no pathway for prescribing them for children and young people from Wales. So no change.

You go first. No you go first. Bury it on a day when ever is looking elsewhere. Talk about it when everyone else has forgotten about Cass cos the news cycle has moved on.

Oh fuck Dr Cass did an interview saying that activists were actively discrediting her and the report to harm children and now she can't use public transport.

O fuck ni yw'r baddies ydyn ni?