Why is the Gender Identity Research and Education Society (GIRES) still advising the NHS?
In 2024, the Cass Review found that the rationale “for early puberty suppression remains unclear, with weak evidence”. Looking at the Gender Identity Research and Education Society’s NHS training material, this does not appear surprising.
A tomboy, “Kai” is sent along a puberty blocker pathway, after seeing “transgender” on YouTube. Kai does not seem to understand the implications of taking puberty blockers, indeed, she appears to have a magical understanding of the supposed treatment:
“At first when I was little, I thought I was just a tomboy, but then on YouTube there was videos — there was a video and it said transgender. I looked at it and I realised I’ve always really wanted to be a boy, but I just couldn’t really say it… I’m hoping for the blockers to make the whole package, make me happy, and that will be that, I’ll be perfect.”
GIRES NHS Training video. Co-produced by NHS Surrey and Borders Partnership. Funded by NHS Health Education Kent Surrey and Sussex.
Kai’s mother also does not seem to be correctly informed regarding the difference in using puberty blockers for precocious puberty, in comparison to being used to delay or block normal puberty.
GIRES had been similarly training the Royal College of GPs.
After I made a complaint regarding GIRES’s influence in the NHS (NHS England Case Reference 2404-2097384-GE NHSE:0355569) Professor James Palmer, Medical Director for Specialised Services, replied in August 2024:
NHS England has no formal relationship with GIRES. Representatives of GIRES do not sit on any NHS England group or committee that is involved with the commissioning of gender dysphoria services. The NHS England website does not sign post people to GIRES.
In August 2024 NHS England published details of how it will implement the recommendations of the Cass Review, and may be found here: https://www.england.nhs.uk/commissioning/spec-services/npc-crg/gender-dysphoria-clinical-programme/implementing-advice-from-the-cass-review/
This reply is arguably incorrect, however, in two ways.
First, the claim that “NHS England website does not sign post people to GIRES” is untrue: NHS England signpost parents and children to GIRES in the NHS’s page “Think your child might be trans or non-binary?”, as it still does even today.
Second, the NHS still has a formal relationship with GIRES, as GIRES remains registered as a “Clinical Reference Group stakeholder”, so are “invited to comment on draft documents and take part in consultations.”
This explains why the NHS is still asking GIRES for advice for the commissioning of “gender dysphoria” services, for example, GIRES posted in November 2024, “NHS England wanted to know our views on the current service specification”.
It is strange, that while NHS England says that it is enacting recommendations of the Cass Review, NHS England is still asking for advice from GIRES, who substantially reject the Cass Review, and continue to make claims regarding puberty blockers, that conflict with the Cass Review, such as in October 2024:
“…puberty blockers which simply block hormone generation leading to puberty for a period of 3 months. This provides an opportunity for exploration in a safe way with the young person. The use of puberty blockers can be re-assessed every 3 months”
In the past, society did not view being a tomboy as something that needed to be medicalised. However GIRES presumably stand by their NHS training material, and remain committed that the NHS should prescribe girls like Kai puberty blockers.
It is difficult to understand how blocking the puberty of girls who are indistinguishable to what society commonly saw as tomboys, is a “safe[r] way” for exploration, rather than just leaving them alone.
After I made another complaint to NHS England (NHS England Case Reference 2412-2176260 - GE NHSE:0705985), asking for GIRES to be removed as a “Clinical Reference group stakeholder”, NHS England replied that they will “not actively remove stakeholders from this list unless they ask to be removed.”
Therefore, contrary to Prof. James Palmer’s claim, there remains a formal relationship between NHS England and GIRES, where NHS England will ask GIRES for its supposed advice on commissioning “gender dysphoria” services, advice which appears largely opposed to the Cass Review.