Thread by @soniasodha

This interview with David Bell, the whistleblower who sounded the alarm about the Tavi’s Gender Identity Development Service, is a powerful & important piece of journalism by @MsRachelCooke in today’s Observer. A couple of thoughts prompted by it...1/6

theguardian.com/society/2021/m…

1. The parallels between Bell’s treatment &treatment of whistleblowers in other NHS hospital scandals like mid-Staffs & Morecambe Bay is alarming. It’s an old story: people sounding alarm on terrible practice in medical profession get bullied in an attempt to silence them. 2/6

2. Maternity & baby death scandals show ideology (“natural” birth is better) have no place in medicine. The story of GIDS is ideology-driven medicine on steroids. Dissenters silenced/moved out, meaning this bit of medicine becomes a self-reinforcing ideological enclave. 3/6

Who loses out as a result? The children treated by GIDS. It’s perhaps not ideal for these issues to become regulated by the courts- it’s a blunt instrument. But when the medical profession fails in its duty to self-regulate, things will end up in court. 4/6

All those who tried to silence David Bell and others who flagged concerns about GIDS - labelling them “transphobes” - are responsible for this ending up in the courts. They prevented a discussion about what’s in children’s best interests. 5/6

Here was our Observer editorial on the landmark Keira Bell v Tavi/GIDS High Court case last December. 6/6

theguardian.com/commentisfree/…

One more piece that may be of interest: I wrote about what happens when ideology like natural birth ideology infects the practice of professionals - and what happens when people try to challenge it - here.

theguardian.com/commentisfree/…