NHS trust axes training with trans charity

TRAINING by the Mermaids transgender charity has been scrapped at the NHS trust that is replacing the Tavistock clinic, after concerns were raised in The Daily Telegraph.

The charity was due to run training for staff at the south London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLAM), starting this month, despite being under investigation by the regulator.

The trust is taking over specialist mental health support for children questioning their gender identity this spring to replace the Tavistock, which was deemed “not safe” and shut down.

However, medics who blew the whistle on the Tavistock said that the trans charity’s involvement with SLAM was a “serious concern”, given a review called for a “fundamentally different” service.

The trust has now performed an about-turn by axing the Mermaids sessions, which cover transitioning, identity and treatment pathways.

A spokesman said: “We are committed to providing our staff with the right training to deliver personalised, safe and therapeutic care for young people and adults using mental health services, but we have taken the decision to stop our work with Mermaids.”

Mermaids is at the centre of a number of safeguarding rows and the Charity Commission is carrying out a statutory inquiry amid concerns over its governance and management.

For 18 years, staff warned that Tavistock medics were pressured by trans campaign groups such as Mermaids.

An NHS England spokesman said: “NHS England does not commission or fund Mermaids. [Trusts] are autonomous and NHSE does not advise trusts on which training providers to use.”