Dr Az Hakeem says parents claimed their kids were trans at NHS Tavistock ‘transing factory’ clinic
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2005: Sue Evans, a nurse at Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust’s Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS), warned that young people were judged too quickly and their treatment was influenced by transgender rights groups.
2009: GIDS became a national service responsible for treating all children in England with gender and identity problems. Demand skyrocketed, with fewer than 100 patients referred to the clinic in 2010, with over 2,500 in 2018.
2018: A senior staff member told the trust’s board that children were being unjustly re-sexed quickly — overlooking the mental health and social reasons behind their wishes
February 2019: In an internal report from Dr. David Bell, who was on Tavistock’s board, explained how patients suffered “long-term harm” because GIDS “could not withstand the pressure” of “highly politicized” campaigners and families.
February 2019: Consultant psychotherapist Dr. Marcus Evans — who had worked at the trust for decades and whose wife Sue first raised her concerns in 2005 — resigned in protest at the Tavistock’s response to doctors raising the alarm.
july 2019: dr. Kirsty Entwhisle, a psychologist at GIDS Leeds Hub, went public with allegations that staff misled patients and made decisions about the ‘bodies and lives’ of young people without ‘robust evidence’.
October 2019: Former GIDS nurse Sue Evans and an anonymous mother of a 15-year-old GIDS patient launched the first legal action against Tavistock. They argued that the trust should not prescribe puberty blockers to children who could not give informed consent.
January 2020: Keira Bell, who was prescribed the drugs when she was 16 years old, replaced Ms. Evans as lead plaintiff. She underwent breast removal surgery but regretted the transition, claiming she was given puberty blockers after “superficial conversations” with social workers “and was given testosterone injections a year later.”
Dec 2020: In response to the claim, the High Court ruled that young people under 16 could not give informed consent to treatment.
2020: NHS England asks pediatrician Dr. Hillary Cass to conduct a review in Tavistock.
September 2021: Tavistock appealed the decision and it was overturned by the Court of Appeal, which claimed the earlier ruling was “inappropriate” and placed patients, parents and medics in a “very difficult position”.
September 2021: Sonia Appleby, the trust’s security officer, has been awarded £20,000 by the tribunal after alleging trust managers tried to stop her from performing her role when staff raised concerns.
January 2021: Britain’s health watchdog, the Care Quality Commission, gave GIDS its lowest rating, “unsatisfactory”, after finding “significant concerns” about how it works. It required improvement.
March 2022: In an interim report, Dr Cass pointed to the trust’s lack of “open discussion” about its handling, which was not subject to quality controls. She found that other mental health issues were “overshadowed” in favor of gender identity issues when children were referred to GIDS. She called for a “fundamentally different service model” and “rapid” investigations into the use of the drugs after finding “insufficient evidence” of its benefits.
July 2022: In a letter to the NHS, Dr. Cass to appoint regional centers for gender identity treatment, with “strong ties” to mental health services and academic centers that conduct ongoing research.
July 2022: The NHS confirmed that GIDS will be replaced by regional centers in existing children’s hospitals, which will provide more holistic care with ‘strong links to mental health services’.