LONDON (dpa-AFX) - The British Medical Association has recently voted to conduct an evaluation of the Cass Review, an independent report on gender identity services for children and young people in the UK, published earlier this year.
The review, led by the distinguished pediatrician Hilary Cass, proposed to ban puberty blockers to children and young people with gender dysphoria, citing the lack of evidence of benefit, and potential long-term health risks.
According to Mayo Clinic, gender dysphoria is a feeling of distress that can happen when gender identity differs from a person's sex assigned at birth or from sex-related physical characteristics.
People with gender dysphoria usually take puberty blockers to suppress the natural production of hormones, and delay the onset of puberty, which might improve their mental well-being, lower the need of surgeries, and ease self-harm or depression thoughts, as per Mayo Clinic.
The BMA's decision comes as doctors and academics of various countries, including the U.K., has raised concerns about the methodologies and recommendations of the review, commissioned by NHS England in 2020.
'The BMA is calling for a pause to the implementation of the Cass Review's recommendations whilst the task and finish group carries out its work. It is expected to be completed towards the end of this year,' the doctors' union stated.
'In the meantime, the BMA believes transgender and gender-diverse patients should continue to receive specialist healthcare, regardless of their age.'
The association, representing around 200,000 doctors in the U.K., emphasized that the decisions on the treatment on the best available evidence must be taken by clinicians, patients, and families, not politicians.
'This is a highly specialized area of healthcare for children and young adults with complex needs, and as doctors we want to be sure they get the most appropriate care and the support they need,' Professor Philip Banfield, Council Chair of BMA, stated.
'The task and finish group will make recommendations to improve the healthcare system that has, for too long, failed transgender patients. It will work with patients to ensure the evaluation invokes the old adage in medicine of 'no decision about me without me'. It is time that we truly listen to this group of important, valued, and unfortunately often victimized people and, together, build a system in which they are finally provided with the care they deserve.'
Copyright(c) 2024 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2024 AFX News
