Time to Think

That’s what books are for. A month ago, I wrote some comments about a TV documentary called The clinic, about the GIDS unit at the Tavistock. It was serious and constructive, avoided a lot of the obvious traps, and represented a fair range of views. But in an hour, it couldn’t tell the full story. A Guardian review suggested that this had actually been achieved by the Newsnight reporter Hannah Barnes, in her book “Time to Think.”

They were right. As a person of leisure, I could order the book from the library, read most of it in a day, on two three-hour train journeys to London and back, and I’m now considerably wiser. First, there’s the issue of management. Polly Carmichael didn’t appear in the TV documentary, and refused to co-operate with the writing of the book, but over the course of Barnes’ extensive enquiries her role becomes clear - she’s a pleasant, concerned professional who wants to look after her team, and listens to what they have to say. She just doesn’t do anything about it.

Another issue, not sexy, not conducive to good television, is record-keeping. What happens to these kids after GIDS stops seeing them? How many of them who transition to another gender regret it, or actually seek to have that process reversed? Nobody knows. Sure, it’s difficult work and they’re under pressure and the demand is growing all the time, but keeping track of the effects of your treatment surely has to be part of the job.

There’s a lot more, but no space for it here. But if you’re interested in what happened at GIDS, you have to read his book.