Meeting of the Parliament 08 May 2024
I draw members’ attention to my registered interest as a practising NHS general practitioner.
The Cass review was commissioned by NHS England four years ago, with the Scottish Government getting updates from 2022. It is an authoritative body of work. Researchers met an extensive range of stakeholders, including professionals, their respected governing organisations and people with lived experience, both directly and through the support of advocacy groups.
The Cass review made 32 recommendations. It concluded that children are being let down by a lack of research and by weak evidence on medical interventions in gender care. In the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee yesterday, Dr Cass set the record straight on the claims of critics of the review, such as Patrick Harvie and Ross Greer, who relied on significant misinformation to push their agenda. The claim that Dr Cass disregarded 98 per cent of papers presented to researchers is false. We believe that the Cass review is a valid scientific document, and that the science does not change just because you cross the River Tweed.
Meghan Gallacher was absolutely correct in pointing out that the SNP-Green Government dithered and delayed in responding and making a decision about the final version of the Cass review. Thank God that clinicians were brave enough to stop the use of puberty blockers. Ash Regan’s intervention, in which she asked for the CMO to appear before Parliament, was important. Why can we not get at least an interim statement and get the CMO to answer questions?
Jenni Minto stated that the Government was not waiting for the Cass report, but it is clear that the SNP Government did not pause the use of puberty blockers. As Jackie Baillie reminded us, the SNP Government has had meetings with Dr Cass throughout. Gillian Mackay seemed to leave out the fact that Dr Cass said that there was poor evidence for puberty blockers and that there must be a multidisciplinary team approach to ensure that mental health and other issues are addressed.
Stigma has no place in society, as Alex Cole-Hamilton said, but I disagree with Alex Cole-Hamilton about where decisions can be taken. For example, the use of mesh was ceased by this Parliament, not by clinicians. When the interim report was produced, it was possible for the Government to pause the use of puberty blockers and take time to discuss the issue with clinicians to make sure that we got the right decisions.
Murdo Fraser brought up the brave story of Sinéad Watson. Dr Cass addressed that issue by saying that irreversible medication must not be given quickly to children but that that should be done via an MDT approach, addressing any other issues that they have. We must apologise to Sinéad Watson, Ritchie Herron and others who were let down by the gender service that they received.
Nobody here denies that trans people exist and nobody here denies trans people’s rights, but nobody’s rights trump other people’s rights—we must all live together. Dr Hilary Cass gave evidence to the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee yesterday and was very generous with her time. We heard that children are gender fluid, not fixed. Puberty blockers are irreversible.
Significant time and effort went into finding all the research in the area. Most importantly, the evidence is simply not there to continue giving these irreversible drugs. Why must the Government insist that children are labelled? Let children be children. Let children experience life. Let children learn. We should never forget that children are vulnerable and that it is our job to protect them. Scottish children will be forever and irreversibly harmed.
The Green amendment that was rejected shows that the Green Party members are science deniers and that the party cares only about dogma and ideology. The same party describes Scots who do not agree with its views as reactionaries and bigots. That was the position of the SNP as well.
We must base our approach on evidence. It is not transphobic to question or review current pathways. Ideology and dogma have no place in medical treatment. We must protect patients who are vulnerable. We must protect our children. It is right that doctors have paused services at the Sandyford clinic, but we need an urgent response to the Cass report from the Government. We must implement the report’s recommendations in full, or will the SNP bow down to Green dogma and remain beholden to that party?