Doctor tells tribunal she was bullied out of NHS safeguarding job over gender care concerns

Dr Sarah Redvers, a busy GP and for three years a named safeguarding doctor in Sussex, has told a three-week employment tribunal that she was accused of transphobia and bullied and harassed out of her NHS child protection role after raising concerns about the care of gender-questioning children. She is claiming constructive dismissal. In her first broadcast interview, she said she felt she was being silenced for doing her job and warned that patients could be harmed. She said she believed allegations of transphobia took precedence over the medical and safeguarding concerns. She told the tribunal she faced a brutal investigation after she passed on complaints brought to her by other doctors.

At the centre of the case is care provided in Brighton from 2020 to children with gender distress, including a 14-year-old. The tribunal heard that several concerned GPs contacted Dr Redvers. They believed a local clinic and doctor were prescribing puberty-blocking drugs and cross-sex hormones to vulnerable young people without detailed checks. As a safeguarding GP, she made several referrals to NHS Sussex and NHS England. Two reports concluded there was nothing to worry about, the tribunal heard.

The tribunal was told that Dr Sam Hall, a trans man who was born female, and the WellBN Clinic, which he has since left, were at the centre of the complaints. Dr Hall, who campaigns for better trans healthcare, has always maintained that patients were properly assessed and appropriately treated. In 2021 he complained that he was being targeted by the safeguarding team. Dr Redvers was called to NHS Sussex offices at Hove Town Hall, where she told the tribunal she faced a four-hour interrogation. She described it as oppressive and upsetting, and said she was bewildered that the medical and safeguarding issues had been lost.

She was off work sick for several months and later felt forced out of her job because of a lack of NHS support. As she left, Brighton parents were also raising concerns about the care of their gender-questioning children. This summer an NHS safety investigation concluded that 78 young patients had potentially been harmed, including some under the age of 13, after being inappropriately prescribed medication at the clinic. It said more than 20 received drugs without a face-to-face assessment.

Dr Redvers said it was upsetting to read about a medical scandal knowing it could have been stopped. Asked whether she viewed it as a medical scandal, she said: 'I do, yes, because concerns were raised appropriately and leaders knew about it.' NHS Surrey and Sussex said it recognised that some employment processes should have been handled differently and has apologised to Dr Redvers. It said it would wait for the outcome of the tribunal before commenting further. Dr Hall and WellBN have not commented on the case.