The Clinic

Earlier this week ITV showed a one-hour documentary called The Clinic. It’s abut the GIDS clinic at the Tavistock, which has been trying to deal with gender dysphoria. I saying “trying”, not because they’re incompetent, but because they’re having to provide answers to complex problems with limited resources, against the clock.

The programme did a really good job of providing detailed information without slipping into crude simplifications or current stereotypes. It also provided a fascinating gallery of different points of view - kids, parents, activists, doctors, lawyers - many of whom were passionately convinced that they were right. Their views, needless to say, did not coincide.

The one who stays with me is Sajid Javid. He was explaining why his decision to close down the GIDS clinic was justified by the evidence available. He strove to present himself as a careful, rational minister, acting in the national interest. What he didn’t do was suggest what happens next. Okay, so you close GIDS. It’s already dealing with thousands of people, many of them vulnerable kids. Where do they go? Who sees them? If what GIDS was doing is wrong, what is the approved government treatment? He hasn’t got a clue, and doesn’t seem to care.