Staff at England’s only gender clinic for children say concerns about the treatments they administered on children were shut down, leaked documents reveal.

Clinicians reported worries that some patients were referred onto a gender transitioning pathway too quickly.

In the transcripts of a review seen by the BBC, staff are damning in their assessment of some parts of the service:

“Let’s pray that I am wrong because if I am not wrong, very many vulnerable children have been very poorly treated and will be left with, potentially, a lifetime of damage here,” one says.

“The reality is, by not doing anything, children are potentially still being medically mismanaged.”

The Tavistock – like other NHS organisations – has a named person clinicians can turn to discuss specific safety concerns.

But staff allege they were discouraged by GIDS Director Polly Carmichael from going to see the Trust’s safeguarding lead, and from referring cases to social services.