A former chairman of the British Medical Association (BMA) council has criticised the organisation’s opposition to the Cass Review in a letter to The Times.
The BMA’s council voted on 31 July to reject the Cass Review’s recommendations, which had come out of an in-depth assessment of the treatment of gender-confused children in the UK.
Over 1,400 doctors have signed an open letter objecting to the BMA’s decision.
Representation
James Johnson, chairman of the BMA council from 2003 to 2007, shared that he was “horrified and saddened by the direction taken by the organisation”.
He said the result of this vote shows that the BMA “has completely failed to consult the members it purports to represent”.
He critiqued the current council, explaining: “Their views are a world away from those of most doctors”.
Doctor’s voices
His views were shared by Dr Lenny Cornwall, a consultant psychiatrist, who said the union “is taking an ideological decision when the Cass report is a scientific review”.
Retired surgeon Richard Rawlins, who has been a BMA member for over 50 years, commented: “I’ve never known council to institute a scientific review or a clinical medical review of a medical matter.”
Dr Az Hakeem, who has specialised in treating patients with gender dysphoria said: “To dismiss the very hard work of Dr Hilary Cass and her team and their four years of evidence-based research is a mockery of the position that they hold.”
Full confidence
When the BMA announced its position, the NHS said it had “full confidence” in the Cass Review, and the Department of Health said the recommendations are “firmly grounded in evidence”.
A Health Department spokesperson stated: “NHS England will be implementing Dr Cass’s recommendations so that children and young people get the safe, holistic care and support they need. We do not support a delay to vital improvements from the NHS to gender services.”
In April, Dr Cass’s review of child gender services in England concluded that giving trans drugs to children is based on “remarkably weak evidence”.
She urged the NHS to review its use of cross-sex hormones and ensure that gender-confused children receive a holistic assessment of all their needs. But the report left open the possibility of drugs for whom it is “clinically indicated”.
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