Doctor who ran clinic for transgender children ‘failed’ an 11-year-old who was transitioning from female to male by not fully explaining drugs could make them infertile, tribunal finds

• Dr Helen Webberley, founder of GenderGP, was accused of serious misconduct
• She didn’t fully explain fertility risks before prescribing patient puberty blockers 
• Doctor didn’t give good follow-up care to patients, 12 and 17, on testosterone
• She put her patients at ‘unwarranted risk of harm’, medical tribunal said today

A doctor who ran an unlicensed online clinic for transgender children ‘failed’ an 11-year-old patient transitioning from male to female by not fully explaining that drugs could cause fertility risks, a medical tribunal found today.

Dr Helen Webberley, founder of GenderGP, was accused of failing to provide good clinical care in 2016 to three patients, aged 11, 12 and 17, who were transitioning from female to male.

She failed 11-year-old Patient C by not discussing risks to fertility at a consultation before prescribing puberty blockers (GnHRa), a Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) panel said today, June 28.

Her husband Dr Michael Webberley , who spent 34 years working for the NHS, was struck off in May this year for wrongly prescribing sex-change treatments to seven transgender patients.

His patients included one who was aged just nine and another a teenager who took their own life few months later.

Dr Helen Webberley (pictured), founder of GenderGP, was accused of failing to provide good clinical care in 2016 to three patients, aged 11, 12 and 17, who were transitioning from female to male

The tribunal said: ‘The tribunal did not consider that Dr Webberley has developed sufficient understanding as to the significance of how she failed Patient C in regard to discussing fertility, and as to how she can be sure that this will not be repeated.’

She put her patients at ‘unwarranted risk of harm’ by failing to provide follow-up care, the panel said.

They found her fitness to practise was impaired by reason of her misconduct, which included failing to discuss risks to fertility with a patient, and on wider public interest grounds.

The tribunal, chaired by Angus Macpherson, found Dr Webberley’s actions amounted to serious misconduct in failing to provide adequate follow-up care to two patients, aged 12 and 17, who were prescribed testosterone.

In its findings, the panel said it was satisfied Dr Webberley had since ‘obtained insight’ and would implement changes if she returned to practise.

But it said: ‘The tribunal has found that Dr Webberley’s misconduct in this regard did put Patients A and B at unwarranted risk of harm.

‘In the tribunal’s view an informed member of the public would be surprised if a finding of impairment on public interest grounds were not made in those circumstances.

‘It therefore finds that Dr Webberley’s fitness to practise is impaired on wider public interest grounds.’

Dr Webberley (left) put her patients at ‘unwarranted risk of harm’ by failing to provide follow-up care, the panel said

Dr Michael Webberley, who spent 34 years working for the NHS, provided puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones via GenderGP, an online gender clinic which he ran with his GP wife Dr Helen Webberley (couple pictured together)

Dr Webberley defended herself Twitter this afternoon, saying that she missed messages in August 2016 from Patient A’s mother because ‘they were going through to the wrong email address’.

She said that she did was not able to provide comprehensive follow-up care or Patient B as she was stopped from working by the General Medical Council in May 2017.

Regarding 11-year-old Patient C, she said: ‘In February 2017 when reviewing the case I realised that although we had touched on the subject of fertility, we hadn’t discussed it fully enough.

‘Patient C’s Mum and I then went onto have multiple questions and answers by email until she was happy that she had enough information on egg storage should it ever be needed in the future. Patient C then started on blockers in April 2017.’

Dr Webberley, from Abergavenny in Monmouthshire, Wales, was convicted in 2018 of running an independent medical agency without being registered.

She was later fined £12,000.

The tribunal found her fitness to practise was also impaired by reason of her conviction.

In evidence to the tribunal, Dr Webberley said: ‘The impact of having the conviction on myself was huge, it affected many things in my life, from my mortgage to my car insurance.

‘I also know that the public were concerned about it because it was heavily reported in the press, but I hope that I have been able to show that at all times I acted with the best interests of my patients at the forefront of my actions.’

Earlier, this year, the panel found more than 30 allegations brought by the General Medical Council (GMC) against the doctor were proved.

However, the panel said the doctor was competent to provide treatment to transgender people and found 83 allegations not proved.

The tribunal is still to decide whether to impose a sanction on Dr Webberley.

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