BMA to vote to 'disavow' the Cass review

[mzdemeanour]

The governing body of the BMA is to hold a vote tomorrow (Wednesday July 17) to 'disavow' the Cass Review. Words fail me to be honest. Any doctors, particularly members of the BMA, able to explain or comment?

Article by Hannah Barnes in the Spectator www.newstatesman.com/politics/health/2024/07/why-are-british-doctors-voting-to-reject-the-cass-report and thread on X/Twitter x.com/hannahsbee/status/1813252387504857241

@Firtreeandpinecones Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association

Can't recommend them highly enough

I think we should look out for people called sue.

Seriously when chickens come home to roost you do not want your name anywhere near this shit show for the claims that will come.

I don’t know how the BMA governance works

https://www.bma.org.uk/about-us/about-the-bma/how-we-work/leadership-at-the-bma

but Dr Emma Runswick is deputy chair of council & her Twitter is interesting!

x.com/erunswickbma/status/1812563833950511133?s=46&t=aWQLrPtVicDNf6MQpq5WVg

The BMA is a union though rather than a 'Royal College' isn't it? And as such is very political? Take the immediate ending of the strikes even though they (leaders of BMA, not ordiniary doctors) know Labour has no more the money to pay them 35% than the Conservatives did. It is medicine by student-level politics. So I guess we should not be surprised.

Great piece by Hannah Barnes thought. Thanks for posting OP.

https://www.bma.org.uk/about-us/about-the-bma/how-we-work/leadership-at-the-bma

First photo, jacket off (unporfessional) to reveal rainbow braces.

Another WTF from me.

Really hope this is just a lunatic fringe issue. Could @Neurodiversitydoctor please rally her GC medic colleagues and chloroform them before they go too far?

(Them being the lunatic fringe, not the fine GC types)

I would guess someone fed up at the BMA put Hannah Barnes on to it.

Most doctors would rather stab themselves to death than go to a union meeting so those that do go tend to be people who enjoy student politics.

To think the BMA just used to irritate by calling for a ban on boxing.

Another captured union. What a surprise!

I wouldn’t be surprised if there were some back handers going on.

Deputy chair Emma Runswick’s twitter. Pronouns and a thread criticising Wes Streeting on puberty blockers…

Are there any UK Doctors/Admins on here?

Does central govt provide professional indemnity/liability insurance?

I'm just puzzled that the big reinsurance companies seem fairly quiet, though I suspect that the impact of each misdemeanour is diversified (i.e a tiny % to each co picking up the bill).

It's so rich for a junior doctor, whose own bio declares her to be early in her career, to lecture anyone about the impeccable quality of Dr Cass's work and recommendations.

The article mentions that medical students are also involved.

The links on Emma's Wikipedia page are interesting.

She seems to have made her career about LGBTQ politics, has been BMA rep since she was a student, and was a vocal Corbyn supporter.

I suspect she's got as far as she has because of the junior doctors strikes - they have been treated v badly and unsurprisingly radicalised as a result.

This doesn't stop her still being a very young person to be in a senior position.

Looking at Runswick’s biog, it’s all about internal union organising, and nothing about medicine or health, in contrast to the other reps’ biogs. Perhaps Runswick’s long term interest is in a future political career.

I recognised the name Emma Runswick - she was one of the doctors who wanted to have the CAN-SG "First Do No Harm: Critical perspectives on sex & gender in healthcare" conference at the RCGP cancelled earlier this year.

She accused GC people of "using DARVO when attacking the healthcare of trans people".

In a tweet threat at the time she said:

Between the lines: promoters of conversion practices for trans folk threatened the RCGP with legal action under Equality Act (EqA) protected belief. Lots of beliefs are protected by EqA: e.g. belief that gay sex is sin. Many protected beliefs are discriminatory if acted upon.

That the 'gender critical' belief that trans people cannot change gender is a protected belief does not require anyone (let alone RCs) to platform those ideas. The threat also makes clear that this conference is not a balanced exploration of evidence - that wouldn't qualify!

It is disappointing to see organisations fold to threats & feel forced to platform advocates of conversion practice. It is frustrating to see bullies using DARVO when attacking the healthcare of trans people. Remember our progress #LGBTplusHM Keep working #BanConversionTherapy

https://x.com/ERunswickBMA/status/1757876826859311208

Emma Runswick is an English medical doctor and trade unionist specializing in mental health. She has served as the deputy chair of the BMA council since 2022.Runswick is a junior doctor who works on a community mental health team in Greater Manchester.[5] In 2018, she was elected to the UK council of the British Medical Association.[5] In 2022, she was elected to a three-year term as the deputy chair.[5][6] She is the first out LGBT person, fifth woman, and second junior doctor elected to a chief officer role.[5] In 2023, Runswick was a prominent figure in a junior doctor strike.[1

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EmmaRunswick

Do we know what time this vote will be?

I don't know much about the BMA but it is a union so maybe has a certain amount in common with some of the other unions that are very "on message" with the koolaid shit.

I do have a couple of doctor friends and the one (bloke) who I know is GC (partly infomed by events in his wider family ) has already left the BMA over previous differences (something to do with covid iirc) -which is a shame, because he's very senior and close to retirement, and would probably be speaking out quite forcibly otherwise. So BMA definitely not representative of all doctors.

The lack of independent thought among these people horrifies me. But I suppose I was a lot more certain of the "correct line" on stuff when I was in my activist 30s than I ever can be now - including about my GC beliefs of course!

Similar to Harrop’s early career history / activism history…..

I expect Emma’s activism is very tiring to stand up against & ppl generally try to keep their heads down & placate rather then get embroiled

and tbh as we’ve seen that’s all it takes

I have sent this article to all doctor friends who are BMA members (I am not). They need pressure from their membership. This is such an insane position to take and really undermines credibility in the profession.

To my mind the doctor's union is now like the NEU - the largest teaching union...long since radicalised and looking for any opportunity to agitate.

https://www.thetimes.com/uk/healthcare/article/dr-emma-runswick-public-face-junior-doctors-strike-corbyn-backing-activists-5q88w5hhd