Long waits and ‘unacceptable’ lack of data at NHS gender clinics in England, review finds

Doctors treating vulnerable patients with gender dysphoria have no way of assessing whether the NHS treatment provided has worked because outcomes are not systematically recorded, a damning official inquiry into the clinics has found.Waiting times for a first appointment at NHS adult gender dysphoria clinics (GDCs) in England are projected to reach 15 years unless there are improvements, the review found. The number of people seeking treatment is rising significantly and on average patients are already waiting five years and seven months for a first assessment.The review conducted by Dr David Levy, an NHS medical director and cancer specialist, was commissioned after last year’s Cass report on gender care for children and young people.Levy, an NHS medical director and cancer specialist, took a team to nine NHS England clinics to assess the effectiveness and safety of each service, interviewing staff and patients

Badenoch accused of making ‘deeply inaccurate’ claims about violence against women

Kemi Badenoch has been accused of weaponising violence against women and girls and using “dangerous” and “deeply inaccurate” claims in her response to the government’s plan to tackle the issue.In the House of Commons on Thursday, the safeguarding minister, Jess Phillips, introduced the government’s long-awaited strategy to tackle “the national emergency” of violence against women and girls, saying it did something “that none before it ever has” by making tackling it a priority across local and national government, the criminal justice system and the voluntary sector.Phillips told the Commons: “We are calling violence against women and girls the national emergency that it is. We are committing to halve these horrific crimes within a decade, and today we publish the strategy that sets us on that journey.”After the announcement of the strategy – which will focus on preventing radicalisation of young men, stopping abusers and supporting victims – the Conservative leader said plans to tackle misogyny in schools were being introduced only because “some people in Labour” watched the Netflix drama Adolescence, adding that the focus should be on “people, who come from cultures that don’t respect women, coming into our country”

Council funding deal: who are the winners and losers – and will tax bills rise?

English councils have received a new three-year financial settlement. But is it fair? Who are the winners and losers? Will your council tax bill go up, and will it stop councils from declaring effective bankruptcy?The government announced a three-year funding settlement for English councils on Wednesday. This sets out each local authority’s core finance allocation, enabling them to set local council tax bills for next April and finalise an overall budget.For the first time, government funding for councils was distributed using a new Fair Funding formula that gives higher weighting (and thus a greater relative share of overall resources) to local authorities with high “deprivation” scores (relative deprivation is measured by factors such as income, employment, health, housing costs and crime).Middlesbrough, Manchester and Birmingham were among the most deprived local authority areas according to the latest indices of deprivation – and they will see some of the biggest increases in spending power from April

Acas offers to help break deadlock in resident doctors’ strike

The conciliation service Acas has offered to help try to break the deadlock in the resident doctors’ strike in England.The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service has made clear that it is willing to become involved in an effort to find a resolution to the long-running dispute, as medics remain on strike for the 14th time over pay and jobs.Acas’s intervention comes after NHS bosses and the Patients Association in recent days urged the government and the British Medical Association to agree to independent mediation to break the deadlock.“Acas is in contact with all the parties involved in the resident doctors’ dispute,” said Kevin Rowan, the body’s director of dispute resolution.However, Acas quickly clarified its position after Rowan’s statement led to speculation that it was already involved in trying to broker a deal

Rights group challenges trans-inclusive swimming policy at Hampstead Heath

Rules permitting trans women to share female changing facilities and swim in a women-only pond are discriminatory and unlawful, the high court has heard.The City of London Corporation is breaching equality legislation by allowing trans people to use the single-sex ponds on Hampstead Heath, according to a claim brought by the rights group Sex Matters. It is seeking permission to challenge the admission regulations.Daniel Stilitz KC, for the City of London, said Sex Matters had “steamed in”, bringing a premature legal action at a time when its officials were actively consulting pond users on its entry rules.Public bodies are redrafting their policies on single-sex spaces in response to the supreme court’s ruling in April that the legal definition of a woman is based on biological sex

Will resident doctors lose support over latest strike? | Letters

“Striking resident doctors are digging in. History suggests this will go on and on” says the headline on Denis Campbell’s analysis piece (16 December). As a retired public health research and policy adviser and the parent of a doctor currently in core training, I agree that it is likely to go on and on – but not because doctors are stubborn. It will persist because the numbers do not add up and too much of the response has been political posturing rather than workforce planning.This year, around 30,000 doctors competed for just 10,000 specialty training posts, leaving thousands unable to progress