Latest news with #PhilBanfield
Daily Mail
10 hours ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Doctor who led British Medical Association's opposition to kids' puberty blocker ban elected as its new leader
The doctor who spearheaded the British Medical Association's opposition to the UK's puberty blocker ban has been elected as its new leader. Dr Tom Dolphin tabled the motion that led to the union controversially lobbying against the findings of the Cass Review into children's gender services. The BMA's governing council sparked fury in July last year when it voted to 'critique' the work, without consulting wider members. This set the BMA apart from the NHS, government and other leading medical organisations who universally backed the study, which took four years to complete and reviewed data from 113,000 children. Key among the recommendations was a ban on prescribing sex hormones to trans-identifying children outside of clinical trials. Critics described the BMA meeting where the vote took place as 'secretive and opaque'. The same council, consisting of 69 members, this week voted to oust sitting chair Professor Phil Banfield and replace him with Dr Dolphin. A source said: 'This shows the dominant ideological forces currently at play within the BMA. In order to get on, you have to embrace this way of thinking.' The BMA set up a rival 'task and finish group' to evaluate the methodology used by Cass and write a critique which they said would be completed by January. However, the report has still not been produced six months after the initial deadline and more than 1,000 members have now signed a letter calling on the union to 'abandon the pointless exercise'. Critics say the BMA is ill-equipped to match the rigour of the Cass review, which was published in April 2024, and describe the union's efforts as a 'waste of money and staff time'. Senior doctors warn that the BMA - which represents 190,000 doctors - has alienated itself, is 'no longer a democratic organisation' and has made itself 'irrelevant' after being taken over by 'ideologues and interest groups'. They highlight that the BMA leadership has consistently failed to select motions relating to the Cass Review at annual conferences, including that held in Liverpool this week, meaning gender-critical members are silenced. Meanwhile, topics including the Israel-Gaza conflict and climate change have been prioritised for debate. Fiona McAnena, director of campaigns at human rights charity Sex Matters, said Dr Dolphin's election as chair 'shows how gender ideology breaks previously respectable organisations'. She added: 'The Cass Review is a comprehensive, evidence-based report on so- called gender medicine for children by an independent paediatrician with impeccable credentials. 'Creating doubt around it without robust evidence is irresponsible, misleading, and not in the best interests of patients. 'We've said before that the transactivist doctors at the BMA are an embarrassment to their profession. 'Their false assertions about biology can be disproven with primary school science. 'Giving them this level of credibility could have serious consequences for the health and wellbeing of vulnerable children and young adults.' Dr Dolphin is a Labour activist who previously boasted of charging the NHS £1,870 for a single shift. He made the extortionate sum covering for picketing colleagues during previous industrial action and donated it to the BMA's strike fund. Writing on X at the time, he said the war chest 'supports people to strike, meaning the strike is stronger and the win will come sooner'. Dr Dolphin has campaigned alongside hard-left MP John McDonnell and been the election agent for Dawn Butler during previous general elections. He also finds time to promote woke cases, including trans issues and veganism. Writing on social media in 2019, Dr Dolphin said: 'This election has really got our membership engaged and working together to bring in a new, different, Labour government.' In July 2022, he posted photos of himself at a Trans Pride march, adding: 'About to set off to let London know that trans rights are human rights!' He has described Brexit as a 'failure' and 'one of the worst foreign policy decisions by the UK in decades'. The union this week passed a motion at its annual conference urging members to offer patients 'identity-based care', despite warnings this risks going against the law on single sex spaces. It follows the Supreme Court ruling in April that the terms woman and sex in the 2010 Equality Act 'refer to a biological woman and biological sex'. Dr Dolphin is an anaesthetic consultant, who has been a member of BMA council since 2012 and lives in London with his husband. He vowed to continue the union's fight for higher pay rises for doctors and said: 'I will empower BMA members so that everywhere that doctors work and medical students study, they know that they are stronger together, and the exploitation and erosion of our profession is stopped.' Commenting on delays to the union's Cass 'critique', a BMA spokeswoman said: 'The original draft Terms of Reference (ToR) that were shared with Council suggested that the Task and Finish Group would report back in January. 'This was removed whilst the ToR were still in draft and has therefore not been an objective for the project, but the Group's chair has continued to give updates to Council. 'This is an extremely complex report to undertake. 'We want to be as sure as we can be that data collection and analysis processes are as rigorous and robust as possible; this requires time, rather than be rushed.'
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Share your memories of lockdown as UK to mark Covid day of reflection
Towns and cities across the UK are holding a day of reflection on Sunday with 2025 marking five years since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Health trusts and councils are among the groups organising events being held in hospitals, parks and town halls. There will also be a procession along the Covid-19 memorial wall in London, which runs beside the River Thames, that ends with a ceremony outside Lambeth Palace. By late October 2023, there had been at least 232,000 deaths in the UK related to the coronavirus, according to the World Health Organisation. The day of reflection was announced in December by Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, who said the events would be organised locally so people could mark the occasion in the way they felt most appropriate. "The pandemic impacted us all in different ways, with many sadly losing loved ones and others making great sacrifices in their lives," she said. "This Covid-19 Day of Reflection will allow people the space and time to reflect and I would encourage everyone to take part in a way that feels right for them." The memorial wall was created in 2021 when a man, whose father died after contracting Covid-19, painted a red heart on the South Bank. There are now more than 200,000 hearts painted on the wall, covering a stretch of a third of a mile (500m). Many have names and dates written inside. The memorial is maintained by a group of volunteers who rely on public donations. They want it to be recognised as a permanent installation by the government so it can be legally protected. Sunday's procession will be followed by a ceremony and a minute's silence, as well as flowers being thrown from Lambeth Bridge. One of the people participating in the procession is Dr Phil Banfield, chairman of the British Medical Association council (BMA). He said: "The emphasis of the day will rightly be one of solemnity and heartfelt reflection, as each of us remembers just how the effects of the pandemic forever changed us personally, professionally and as a society." Other events include a special prayer service at Manchester Cathedral, an outdoor event at Glasgow Green including a piper, choir and minute's silence, and a remembrance concert with music, poems and readings in Belfast. The day of reflection was one of the recommendations made by the UK commission on Covid commemoration, which was tasked by the government to find the best ways of marking this period. Baroness Morgan of Cotes, who heads the commission, said when the day of reflection was first announced: "As each year passes since the height of the pandemic it can feel as if Covid is more and more of a distant memory. "And yet I know from the conversations the UK Covid commemoration commissioners had, that those who lost loved ones appreciate a day when many others will also remember those who lost their lives with them." A public inquiry into the government's response to the pandemic is under way with hearings taking place now on the procurement of personal protective equipment for the NHS. NHS staff should have career breaks, says William Covid inquiry rejects last-minute bid from Michelle Mone Covid inquiry turns to PPE deals and the 'VIP lane' Dogs given up since pandemic at 'record highs' Who can get an NHS Covid jab? 'People blamed me for bringing Covid to UK'
BBC News
08-03-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Covid day of reflection 2025: Share your memories of lockdown
Towns and cities across the UK are holding a day of reflection on Sunday with 2025 marking five years since the start of the Covid-19 trusts and councils are among the groups organising events being held in hospitals, parks and town will also be a procession along the Covid-19 memorial wall in London, which runs beside the River Thames, that ends with a ceremony outside Lambeth late October 2023, there had been at least 232,000 deaths in the UK related to the coronavirus, according to the World Health Organisation. The day of reflection was announced in December by Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, who said the events would be organised locally so people could mark the occasion in the way they felt most appropriate."The pandemic impacted us all in different ways, with many sadly losing loved ones and others making great sacrifices in their lives," she said. "This Covid-19 Day of Reflection will allow people the space and time to reflect and I would encourage everyone to take part in a way that feels right for them."The memorial wall was created in 2021 when a man, whose father died after contracting Covid-19, painted a red heart on the South are now more than 200,000 hearts painted on the wall, covering a stretch of a third of a mile (500m). Many have names and dates written memorial is maintained by a group of volunteers who rely on public donations. They want it to be recognised as a permanent installation by the government so it can be legally protected. Sunday's procession will be followed by a ceremony and a minute's silence, as well as flowers being thrown from Lambeth of the people participating in the procession is Dr Phil Banfield, chairman of the British Medical Association council (BMA).He said: "The emphasis of the day will rightly be one of solemnity and heartfelt reflection, as each of us remembers just how the effects of the pandemic forever changed us personally, professionally and as a society."Other events include a special prayer service at Manchester Cathedral, an outdoor event at Glasgow Green including a piper, choir and minute's silence, and a remembrance concert with music, poems and readings in day of reflection was one of the recommendations made by the UK commission on Covid commemoration, which was tasked by the government to find the best ways of marking this Morgan of Cotes, who heads the commission, said when the day of reflection was first announced: "As each year passes since the height of the pandemic it can feel as if Covid is more and more of a distant memory."And yet I know from the conversations the UK Covid commemoration commissioners had, that those who lost loved ones appreciate a day when many others will also remember those who lost their lives with them."A public inquiry into the government's response to the pandemic is under way with hearings taking place now on the procurement of personal protective equipment for the NHS.
