A sex change specialist facing a charge of serious professional misconduct has stepped down from an expert committee which is drawing up new guidelines on the treatment of transsexualism, SocietyGuardian.co.uk has learned.
Consultant psychiatrist Russell Reid, who is accused of putting his patients' health at risk, last week withdrew from the Royal College of Psychiatrist's gender identity disorder (GID) working party following complaints from other committee members.
James Barrett, another specialist in GID, called for Dr Reid to resign from the committee in June after the General Medical Council (GMC) decided that he would face a serious professional misconduct hearing.
Dr Barrett and two other senior transgender psychiatrists at the NHS Charing Cross gender identity clinic in north-west London allege that Dr Reid has breached international guidelines by inappropriately prescribing sex-changing hormones to his patients and referring them for genital surgery without adequate assessment.
The guidelines lay down "flexible directions" for the treatment of people with GID, which are not legally binding and may be modified to suit individual patients. The standards, set by the Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association, are "generally supported" by the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCP), though it does not formally recognise them.
A spokeswoman for the RCP said: "Dr Reid has decided to stand aside while the proceedings of the GMC are continuing."
But she added that the psychiatrist would still contribute to the expert group's development of UK guidelines on the treatment of transsexualism.
A spokeswoman for Dr Reid told SocietyGuardian.co.uk that he had "voluntarily withdrawn" from the group, but would continue to provide input and advice on the new standards of care.
The psychiatrist will not comment on the allegations being investigated by the GMC while the inquiry is ongoing.
The RCP is drawing up new standards of care on the treatment of GID because doctors and patients believe that the Harry Benjamin guidelines do not fit the UK healthcare system.
Brian Ferguson, a transgender psychiatrist in Nottingham, said that transsexual patients in this country were usually first assessed for treatment by their GP whereas in the US there is much easier and earlier access to psychological assessment.
Dr Ferguson added that Dr Reid decided to step down from the working party because he did not want the GMC inquiry to cloud the debate about improving the medical care of transsexuals.
A date for the professional misconduct hearing has yet to be set.
One of Dr Reid's former patients, Charles Kane, a 44-year-old Newcastle businessman, is suing him after claiming that he was misdiagnosed as transsexual.
But Dr Reid has received support from other experts in the field and more than 150 patients, according to Britain's main transgender pressure group, Press for Change.
