Doctor gave sex-change treatments improperly

A RETIRED gastroenterologist wrongly prescribed sex-change treatments to seven transgender patients – including one aged nine, a tribunal has heard.

Dr Michael Webberley provided puberty blockers and hormones via Gendergp, an online gender clinic he ran with his wife Dr Helen Webberley.

A Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) panel found him guilty of various charges after he was accused of failing to provide good clinical care to seven patients between 2017 and 2019.

In several cases, he had taken care of the patients after restrictions had been placed on his wife’s practice. But several doctors raised concerns about his treatment with the General Medical Council and he was later suspended.

With all seven patients, he was found guilty of providing or allowing treatment that was “not clinically indicated” or had been prescribed without adequate tests or assessments.

The tribunal found he had acted “outside the limits of his expertise” as a consultant gastroenterologist and without the necessary qualifications and training in general practice, transgender medicine or paediatrics.

The tribunal heard about one nineyear-old patient who had been born a girl but identified as a boy. Dr Webberley diagnosed the patient as suffering from gender dysphoria based on a questionnaire that was “inadequate for the assessment of a minor” and without performing an adequate mental or physical examination. He then prescribed puberty blockers off-licence.

A 17-year-old patient was transitioning from female to male and contacted Dr Webberley after becoming unhappy at long waiting lists for NHS treatment. Dr Webberley diagnosed the patient as gender dysphoric without checking information with their GP.

The tribunal also found that he prescribed testosterone when it wasn’t clinically indicated. The patient had been diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome and had “complex” and longstanding mental health issues but it “did not appear” that Dr Webberley was aware of them and he had failed to obtain the patient’s medical records, the tribunal concluded. The patient took their own life just three months later.

The tribunal will now decide if Dr Webberley’s fitness to practise has been impaired and, if so, what sanctions he will face.