Medical experts who have quit the NHS’s child gender identity service fear they have “had front row seats to a medical scandal”.
An investigation by Sky News found as many as 35 psychologists have resigned from the London-based clinic in the last three years.
Speaking out on condition of anonymity, one warned that medics are shouldering huge caseloads and fear being labelled “transphobic” if they raise concerns.
Over-medicalised
“Our fears are that young people are being over-diagnosed and then over-medicalised”, one psychologist said.
“We are extremely concerned about the consequences for young people”, they added.
“For those of us who previously worked in the service, we fear that we have had front row seats to a medical scandal.”
“young people are being over-diagnosed and then over-medicalised”
Another told the investigation: “At the moment there’s only one pathway through the service, which is a medical pathway, not a psychological one”.
‘Transphobic’
They added that if they challenged a parent about their child’s views on gender, they would “immediately be called transphobic”.
The psychologist said: “I didn’t feel able to voice my concerns, or when I did I was often shut down by other affirmative clinicians.
“Looking back there are young people who I now wouldn’t necessarily put on medication”.
In a statement, GIDS said: “We have conducted exit interviews with all departing staff to understand their motivations and identify any areas of concern.”