Woman wanted sex change 'to become Christ'

Hearings continue in the matter of the now infamous Psychiatrist Russell Reid. As reported in the Guardian

A former patient of the UK's best-known expert on transsexualism wanted a sex change in order to fulfil her delusion that she was Jesus, an inquiry heard today.

The woman, identified only as patient D, told the General Medical Council disciplinary panel that consultant psychiatrist Dr Russell Reid had failed to recognise that she was suffering from manic depression when he gave her sex changing hormones and referred her for surgery to remove both her breasts.

Patient D told the hearing she had never been transsexual and considered it "lucky" that she was detained in a psychiatric hospital just before the operation was due to go ahead.

She said: "I think I should have been offered counselling and the possibility that it [my problem] was something else [other than transsexualism] should have been considered further."

The inquiry heard that she first saw Dr Reid in March 1996 after watching a TV programme about transsexualism, which convinced her this was the reason for her history of depression.

Dr Reid has admitted that he prescribed her with male hormones on her second appointment despite a second opinion from another psychiatrist warning that treatment should be delayed, pending further psychiatric assessment.

The second psychiatrist, Dr Dalrymple, noted there were discrepancies in her story and advised she should not receive hormones until it was clear her desire to change sex was not just a reaction to watching the TV programme.

Patient D told the hearing that by the summer of 1996 she was exhibiting symptoms of mania, including religious delusions.

Dr Reid recorded that patient D was "doing well" and "feeling better and happier", but she told the hearing "the reality was that I was in a mess".

By the time of her final appointment with Dr Reid she believed she was "communicating with people psychically", could start and stop trains with her mind, and had the power to cure people's poor eyesight.

Patient D told the hearing she thought she was turning into Jesus and that becoming a man would complete that transformation.

"I believed I was becoming Jesus, which I understand is common in manic depression, and having the sex change was part of that," she said.

Just days after Dr Reid said he was referring her for a bilateral mastectomy to remove her breasts, patient D was found wandering the streets naked and was subsequently sectioned.

Doctors at the local psychiatric hospital said she believed she was possessed by various spirits including that of her grandfather, and diagnosed her with manic depression. After treatment she no longer wished to change sex.

The inquiry heard that patient D had been treated with Prozac prior to seeing Dr Reid. Her family repeatedly expressed their concern to Dr Reid about the speed of her diagnosis and treatment, warning that she had previously convinced an eye specialist that she needed glasses when she did not.

Patient D's father wrote to Dr Reid expressing his "shock and concern" at the pace of her treatment. He wrote: "It seems clear that accepted guidelines have been ignored. It is an understatement to say your diagnosis is rushed. The risk of it all being in vain is horrifying."

Dr Reid has admitted he failed to adequately assess patient D's mental and physical health prior to prescribing hormones. He has also admitted referring her for surgery before she had lived as a man for 12 months, as recommended by international standards of care for the treatment of transsexualism.

But he denies a charge of serious professional misconduct in relation to patient D and four other ex-patients. He also denies breaching the international standards of care and providing treatment not in the patients' best interests.

The hearing continues.