Who's responsible for Scottish kids prescribed PB by NHS? Anyone?

[lcakethereforeIam]

I'd like to say it beggars belief but in fact I'm surprisingly unsurprised

https://archive.ph/5a92B

https://www.thetimes.com/uk/scotland/article/puberty-blockers-given-to-children-without-proper-checks-doctors-warn-90t7c0nhx

Perhaps it explains some of the situation if along the treatment line all the Doctors, clinicians, and so on thought that someone, not them, but someone knew what they were doing and were taking responsibility. After all it's such a serious intervention (some people claim 'lifesaving') it can't be a treatment pathway that was fudged just at the behest of some activists?

Ah so this is how it's going to go. Everyone is going to blame someone else and no responsibility will be taken for the harm caused.

Shameful.

Who is the retired merchant banker quoted, and why is his opinion of note?

Apparently:

Ewan Brown, who has served on the boards of listed and private companies, universities and charities, is the author of Corporate Ego. His book describes the spectacular fall from grace of seven prestigious Scottish companies – Burmah Oil, Ivory & Sime, Lilley, HBOS, RBS, Johnston Press and Standard Life; and he identifies major failings in governance as the common cause. Ewan contends that governance in the public sector, and NHS Scotland in particular, is not fit for purpose.

He seems to be a big cheese in a think tank, Reform Scotland?, with an interest in Governance in the NHS and more widely in Scotland. From a quick Google he claims to be apolitical. He seems to have written articles for the Times so might be their rent-a-quote. Or he might, like so many of us, had his interest snagged by something and fallen down a rabbit hole. Or both.

from the article:

In a statement, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said it was committed to providing the best possible clinical care for people accessing gender services. It added: “Clear clinical governance arrangements are now in place between NHS GGC and NHS Lothian in relation to patients attending NHS Lothian paediatric services.” (my italics)

One could reasonably conclude that before now, no clear clinical governance was in place, no? How fkin AWFUL that these children's cases were not monitored until someone said ey up.

Christ.

Shoddy governance is at the heart of so many failings.

In healthcare, it feels exacerbated by what Balint described as the 'collusion of anonymity'. Balint named the phenomenon of * *HCPs taking important decisions, without anyone feeling ultimately responsible for them.

iirc, he wrote the original ca. 1955 and it's still as true nearly 75 years later.

ETA: it was 1957. The doctor, his patient and the illness

What we are seeing is just pure evil, a live experiment with no accountability, on children, how can this be happening in the UK?!

What a sorry mess.

'The report says: “There is currently lack of clarity and understanding about where clinical governance accountability lies for this small but important patient group across Sandyford services, GGC, acute services in GGC and acute services in NHS Lothian. Currently none of these services have responsibility for the risks above and mitigations to reduce these.”'

Is that the sound of lawyers' ears pricking up?

I bloody well hope so @ArabellaScott as maybe when the public lawsuits start in earnest the gender crap will will finally be delivered a death blow

Everything in the UK is run in order to avoid death threats by activists it would seem.

If only there was a police force willing to take action against them rather than do the Macarena with them.

I've just finished reading a long article on Grenfell. The, imo, frankly criminal behaviour of the company who made the cladding and faked the fire tests, then all the sins of omission that followed. Training not given, assumptions made, corners cut. All the assumptions that someone, not them, but someone will have made the checks. Obviously, I'm grossly over simplifying (I can't believe the time that's passed, the horror of it still seems like yesterday) but the similarities are chilling.

Have you watched Dopesick?

It's literally the same thing as puberty blockers. Even down to the 1% 'addiction/detransitioners' stat. Which is quoted and quoted and becomes a thing that it never was in the first place.

The power that the pharma companies hold, and the avoidance of the regulators to do anything is just breathtaking.

Surely responsibility lies with the prescribing clinician?

The responsibility must lie with someone. Does that person (whoever it is) know they're responsible? Or are they blithely carrying on thinking the blame will land elsewhere.

Wouldn't the prescribing clinician refer to the prescribing guidelines? As 'gender dysphoria' is such a nailed down diagnosis surely it could never go wrong, right...

PB are used off-label meaning they have not been approved for this use.

So if these are not approved, are clinicians therefore personally liable for all issues?

I would not like to be a clinician that had prescribed them right now.

Yes personally liable. I would have pushed back very hard had I been asked to prescribe. Retired now thank goodness!

It seems like it's a shitshow

https://archive.ph/YRw6Q just bumble along over the paywall

www.thetimes.com/uk/scotland/article/we-are-experimenting-with-our-young-says-doctor-tlfrnzc0p