NHS gender clinic hit by revolt over training

Experts believed to have quit after Cass report recommendations were not followed in guidance

A NEW NHS children’s gender clinic has been hit by revolt before it has opened after experts quit over apparent concerns with staff training. A team that included paediatricians and child psychologists were put together by Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) in London to create materials for staff running its new gender clinic, but had to be disbanded because of disagreements before the work was finished.

GOSH is set to be one of two children’s gender service providers that open this April, replacing the controversial Tavistock clinic, before other sites are opened in each region of England.

NHS England has now been forced to commission the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges (AOMRC) to finish producing guidance for staff within the next six weeks, so that medics running the clinic can be trained before the first children are seen. The NHS insists the clinic will begin seeing the more than 6,000 children waiting from April, following a year delay, and in spite of the challenges this has posed. A further 2,000 patients ages 16 and 17 have been referred to adult clinics because they would not be seen before they turn 18. Arguments about what staff training materials for the new services should look like led to at least four of the team of 11 resigning, including its manager, toward the end of last year, it was first reported by The New Statesman.

The resignations included experts who believed the training materials were not following the independent recommendations made by Dr Hilary Cass, former president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.

Namely, that the service should provide an “exploratory” rather than “affirmative” approach to a child’s health.

Dr Cass’s interim review called for a “fundamentally different” approach to that delivered at the Tavistock, with clinical teams made up of mental health and paediatric experts who would consider conditions beyond gender dysphoria. Dr Cass’s full report is due later this year.

A GOSH spokesman said: “We recruited a wide range of people to collectively develop the materials in line with the Cass review recommendations. While we appreciate they may hold differing views, there was a strong governance process in place to ensure alignment with both the Cass review, the interim service specification and all available evidence.”

An AOMRC spokesman acknowledged “time is tight” to produce the guidance but has intervened because “our members are keen to help ensure this service can live as planned”.