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Sue Bagshaw

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Dame Sue Bagshaw
DNZM
Bagshaw in 2019
Born
Susan Nicola Dean

(1949-09-30) 30 September 1949 (age 75)
Hong Kong
SpousePhil Bagshaw
Children4

Dame Susan Nicola Bagshaw DNZM (née Dean, born 30 September 1949) is a New Zealand doctor specialising in the health needs of young people.[1][2]

Early life and education

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Bagshaw was born in Hong Kong on 30 September 1949. She grew up there and attended a Church of England girls' boarding school. Bagshaw studied at the University of London, where she obtained a BSc degree Cum Laude in Biochemistry in 1971 and subsequently an MB BS degree in 1974.[3][4]

Professional career

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She moved to Christchurch, New Zealand, in the early 1980s. She initially worked for the Family Planning Association to improve access to sexual and reproductive health services for young women by expanding the number of clinics in the South Island. However she found that young people were too embarrassed or shy to attend the clinics and instead she designed a "one-stop shop" model, which provided a range of health services in one place.[2]

In 1995, Bagshaw established a youth health centre in central Christchurch that offered free doctor's appointments, counselling and addiction support services for young people.[2] The centre closed in 2010 due to a lack of funding. In 2012 she opened a replacement youth hub in Barbadoes Street, which brought together 16 youth organisations in one facility.[1][2] In April 2023, while remaining a patron, Bagshaw stepped down from her lead role in the centre which had been re-branded as Te Tahi Youth. She said it would allow her more time to develop a new project and open a "youth hub designed to connect services like mental health with education, transitional housing, employment, and training, and adding a creative arts centre and place for recreation".[5]

Bagshaw is a senior lecturer in paediatrics at the University of Otago in Christchurch and is the chair of the Korowai Youth Well-Being Trust and a trustee for the Collaborative for Research and Training in Youth Health and Development, which she founded.[6] She serves on the board of the Canterbury Charity Hospital Trust.[3]

Bagshaw has also pioneered gender affirming care for transgender people. In late September 2022, Bagshaw advocated the use of puberty blockers for children and young people wanting to transition from their assigned genders, stating that "otherwise you get irreversible effects from their normal puberty which then need a lot of surgery, etcetera, to reverse... breast development and things like that." She argued that puberty blockers eased children's distress and allowed them to fully explore their gender options.[7] In April 2024, Bagshaw maintained that puberty blockers were "safe and reversible" despite the Ministry of Health removing a claim that they were "safe and reversible" from its website last year. The United Kingdom, Sweden, Finland and France have restricted the use of puberty blockers for children She said that "most kids know what they want, most kids know what they are. And that's confirmed with time, so they do carry on with the hormones." She regarded opposition to puberty blockers as a "moral panic".[8]

Recognition

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Bagshaw is Fellow of the Australasian Chapter of Sexual Health Medicine (FRACShM) of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, and Fellow of the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners (FRNZCGP).

In the 2002 New Year Honours, she was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (CNZM), for services to youth health.[2] In the 2019 Queen's Birthday Honours, she was promoted to Dame Companion of the same Order (DNZM), also for services to youth health.[9]

Personal life

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Bagshaw is married to Phil Bagshaw, who she met at medical school in London. Together they have four children.[1] In the 2019 New Year Honours, her husband was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to health.[10] Her son Andrew, who lived in the United Kingdom, was killed in Ukraine in 2023 while doing voluntary humanitarian work during the Russo-Ukrainian War.[11][12] On 14 August 2023, The Quiet Hero, a book about the Bagshaws' son, was released.[13][14]

Publications

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Bagshaw co-authored Calming Your Child, De-escalating Tantrums, Anxiety, Aggression and Other Challenging Behaviours in 2022.[15] Writing of the book, Bagshaw noted the need to understand children's behaviours from their perspective, suggesting "a tantrum might be due to the child being scared, distressed or overwhelmed and when we understand the 'why' behind the behaviour, we can look at techniques to address it."[16]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "The brilliant Bagshaws: Canterbury doctors dedicated to helping those in need". Stuff. 27 May 2019. Archived from the original on 5 August 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d e Broughton, Kate (3 June 2019). "Christchurch GP and youth advocate Sue Bagshaw made a Dame". Stuff. Archived from the original on 3 June 2019. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  3. ^ a b "Dame Sue Bagshaw". University of Otago. 18 May 2021. Archived from the original on 2 October 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  4. ^ "Meet the team". The Collaborative Trust. Archived from the original on 27 January 2018. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  5. ^ Stevenson, Katie (22 April 2023). "Dame Sue Bagshaw steps aside after 28 years leading Chch youth health centre". 1News. Archived from the original on 24 May 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  6. ^ "About Us". The Collaborative Trust. Archived from the original on 27 June 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  7. ^ Hill, Ruth (29 September 2022). "Puberty blocker use jumps as expert backs results". RNZ. Archived from the original on 24 April 2024. Retrieved 8 May 2024.
  8. ^ Hill, Ruth (11 April 2024). "Government won't say if it will follow Britain's move to ban routine use of puberty blockeds". RNZ. Archived from the original on 24 April 2024. Retrieved 8 May 2024.
  9. ^ "Queen's Birthday Honours: Sue Bagshaw backs young for 30 years". NZ Herald. 3 June 2019. ISSN 1170-0777. Archived from the original on 5 January 2024. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  10. ^ "New Year honours list 2019". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 31 December 2018. Archived from the original on 30 December 2018. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
  11. ^ Rhoden-Paul, Andrew (25 January 2023). "Ukraine: Chris Parry and Andrew Bagshaw killed in Soledar rescue attempt". BBC News. Archived from the original on 2 December 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  12. ^ Ambrose, Tom; Graham-McLay (24 January 2023). "Two missing Britons killed in Ukraine while evacuating citizens from Soledar". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 3 November 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  13. ^ "WORD Christchurch 2023: Life, death, and doing the right thing – The Quiet Hero: Andrew Bagshaw" (Discussion with Philip Matthews (author) and Sue and Phil Bagshaw chaired by Kamala Hayman, editor of The Press and Stuff Canterbury). Christchurch City Council Libraries. 28 August 2023. Archived from the original on 6 January 2024. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
  14. ^ "Sue and Phil Bagshaw on their 'quiet hero' son, killed in Ukraine". RNZ. 14 August 2023. Archived from the original on 15 August 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
  15. ^ Hempseed, Michael; Bagshaw, Sue (14 December 2022). Calming Your Child: De-escalating Tantrums, Anxiety, Aggression, and Other Challenging Behaviors. Workman. p. 256. ISBN 978-1641706667.
  16. ^ "New parenting book aims to tame children's tantrums". NZ Herald. 3 August 2023. Archived from the original on 14 November 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2024.
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