A British general practitioner has launched a legal claim against the NHS after stating she was bullied and harassed out of her role for raising concerns about patient safety at a gender identity clinic. Dr. Sarah Redvers told a recent employment tribunal that she was accused of transphobia and subjected to a “brutal” investigation after passing on complaints from other doctors regarding the quality of care provided to young people.
Allegations of unsafe prescribing
Redvers, who served as a named safeguarding GP for Sussex, said her primary duty was to advise colleagues on patient protection. In July 2020, she received reports from other doctors who were uncomfortable prescribing testosterone to an 18-year-old patient based on advice from an online clinic. The prescribing GP had received guidance from Dr. Sam Hall, a Brighton-based doctor and transgender rights campaigner.
Redvers stated that Hall was recommending treatments for patients he had not personally assessed. After consulting with NHS England, she was advised to file a formal complaint as a whistleblower. An initial investigation concluded there was no cause for concern regarding Hall’s practice. However, over the following months, more doctors voiced worries about the lack of specialist supervision and the appropriateness of prescribing puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones at the WellBN clinic where Hall worked.
When Redvers raised these additional concerns, she was told by an investigator that there was a “general worry” that staff might make allegations of transphobia. She described this as “appalling” and argued that such claims were obscuring the medical and safeguarding issues she was raising.
Tribunal and subsequent safety review
In 2021, prompted by concerns from local mental health services about a vulnerable 15-year-old, Redvers referred Hall to the General Medical Council. Hall responded by emailing Adam Doyle, the chief executive of the NHS Sussex Integrated Care Board at the time, claiming he was being victimized. It later emerged during the tribunal that Doyle had previously held mentoring meetings with Hall.
While the GMC did not pursue its investigation, the NHS launched an inquiry into Redvers. She described a four-hour interrogation as oppressive and upsetting, noting that she broke down during the process. The investigation concluded that her treatment would have a negative impact on staff willingness to raise concerns and warned that the CEO and trust should apologize. Redvers eventually left her safeguarding role in 2023, stating she felt she could no longer work in the organization.
Months after Redvers left, a separate NHS safety investigation found that 78 children had potentially been harmed by inappropriate prescriptions at the WellBN practice. The report, released in June 2026, noted that the review was triggered by a drug audit in late 2024 rather than the earlier concerns raised by Redvers. NHS England described the situation as “totally unacceptable” and acknowledged that young people were put at risk because practitioners provided care they were not commissioned to deliver.
NHS Surrey and Sussex has apologized to Redvers, admitting that some employment processes should have been handled differently. Redvers is currently awaiting the outcome of her constructive dismissal claim against the NHS Sussex Integrated Care Board and Adam Doyle. She stated that the NHS needs to remember that patients come first and should listen to staff who raise legitimate concerns.
Source: BBC
