"A Healthcare Story...Not A Trans Story": Hannah Barnes On Her Investigation Into the Tavistock Clinic
The Byline Podcast speaks to the author of an acclaimed book about the controversial gender identity clinic, as well as a former patient who attended the centre
The author of an acclaimed new book about Britain’s most prominent gender identity clinic has told Byline she regards her work as an investigation into flawed healthcare – not an attack on Trans rights.
‘Time To Think’ by Hannah Barnes delves deep into the closure of the Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) in London, and has garnered glowing reviews in a range of broadsheets, including the Sunday Times, the FT and The Observer.
Not bad for a title which was rejected by 22 publishers, many no doubt wary of the potential backlash involved in covering a story with the potential to inflame culture warriors on all sides.
Barnes – a senior Newsnight producer and a former BBC colleague of mine – says she has no interest in playing that game.
Instead, she’s tried to focus on the facts of a scandal which poses tough questions about groupthink in the NHS and the inability of whistleblowers to make their voices heard.
The key allegations are that children as young as 10 were prescribed puberty blockers based on slim to zero evidence; and that when critics raised legitimate doubts, they were silenced by powerful managers fearful of being dubbed ‘transphobic’. Powerful lobbying groups, notably the Mermaids charity, were given undue credence.
Barnes said, “we've never questioned Trans identities, nor anyone's right to transition. For me, the book is a healthcare story, and it's whether in each and every case, young people experiencing distress around their gender got the best care possible.”
The evidence that many patients received inappropriate treatment is compelling.
Barnes talks to a range of senior clinicians who worked at GIDS, and traces its evolution from a tiny niche service specialising in talking therapies to one prescribing body altering drugs to hundreds of youngsters.
Barnes observes, “the absolute toxicity of the debate has meant that we collectively as adults have let down some of these young people. They’ve not had the care that they should have, because people have been too frightened to scrutinise this service like we would any other part of the NHS, because the word ‘gender’ is put in there.
“I think it's possible to question the care provided by a service without questioning the young people who use that service.”
A critical independent report by Dr David Taylor, which questioned the direction of GIDS was completed in 2005, but remained unpublished until 2020, as senior leaders closed ranks.
Another independent report was published last year by Dr Hilary Cass, which concluded that GIDS – based at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust in North London – was “not safe”.
It is now scheduled for closure, and provision will be dispersed to other centres.
Byline also spoke to Tyler, a young Trans man, who started using puberty blockers prescribed by GIDS at the age of 15, and who ranks himself as a “satisfied customer”.
“If I had realised I was Trans a lot earlier and had the language to put it together, I think I would have had a much easier time”, he said.
“I wouldn't have had to have my double mastectomy if I’d been put on hormone blockers at an early age. I think [puberty blockers are] definitely the right thing for a lot of people.”
Barnes responded: “I've spoken to people who, like Tyler, have had a really positive experience at GIDS. I'm not for a moment disputing that the service hasn't helped young people at all.
“I think the difficulty is, and this is something picked up by the Care Quality Commission and Hillary Cass in her independent review, is that there hasn't been consistency in GIDS. There’s been what’s described as a ‘clinicians lottery.’
“So I'm not for a moment doubting that the service has helped some people. But it's harmed some people too.”
You can listen to Hannah Barnes and Tyler, as well as Tyler’s mum Jo, in this exclusive preview of the Byline Times Podcast