‘Fast-tracking’ row on trans children
Governor steps down as report raises concerns over NHS clinic
‘Lobby groups have influence’
A GOVERNOR of the NHS trust which runs England’s only gender clinic for children has quit amid claims youngsters are being rushed into transitioning without being given enough guidance.
Marcus Evans, who had worked at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust for more than 30 years, said he has serious concerns about ‘what is going on in the gender identity world’.
His decision to quit followed a damning internal report which claimed that the trust’s Gender Identity Development Service, an NHS service, was ‘not fit for purpose’.
A letter has been signed by 25 other clinicians at the trust who are upset at how the concerns raised in the report have been handled.
The report by Dr David Bell concluded that ‘children’s needs are being met in a woeful, inadequate manner and some will live on with the damaging consequences’.
He wrote that the service was not fully considering factors in a child’s background, such as previous abuse or autism, which might influence their decision to transition.
The report found some children were referred for puberty-blocking hormones after just one session.
The clinic in Swiss Cottage, north west London, also allegedly bowed to pressure from ‘ highly politicised’ campaigners despite some children ‘taking up a trans identity as a solution to problems such as historic child abuse in the family, bereavement... homophobia and a very significant incidence of autism spectrum disorder’.
Cases which raised concerns included a girl who felt ‘guilty’ when her brother died suddenly, so she attempted to give her parents ‘their son back’ by changing gender.
Some parents also sought transition for their children because they were gay. Speaking to the Daily Mail yesterday, Mr Evans said: ‘I have concerns about what is going on in the gender identity world.
‘My concern is that there has been a tendency to become too quick to jump to conclusions in this particular area. There is a lot of pressure on services with people coming in with a fixed idea of what they think they need, alongside pro- trans lobby groups who have a lot of influence.
‘It’s hard for clinicians to see a kid and their family and say, ‘‘we need to slow things down and think about this’’.’
Mr Evans, who stressed he is an experienced adult psychotherapist but does not specifically work with children nor specialise in gender, added: ‘The child may feel like you are withholding from them what they see as the solution.
‘But actually what you are doing is being a responsible clinician trying to slow things down and think things through. We are not taking a hard line against them but nor are we capitulating to their way of seeing things.’
Speaking about concerns raised in Dr Bell’s report, he said: ‘I don’t think a lot of serious things he brought up were properly addressed.
‘It needs thorough examination before referring people for active medication treatment as we don’t fully know the implications of this biologically and psychologically.’
The trust said all the recommendations will be discussed at a meeting next month and acted on.
Responding to Mr Evans, Dr Polly Carmichael of the trust said: ‘We carry out wide-ranging thoughtful assessments over a period of time exploring with young people many aspects of their development.
‘In many cases we work closely with local services where young people are better supported for co- occurring problems. A recommendation at the end of the assessment can be for further time for a young person to consider their options.’