Whistleblower Dr Sinead Helyar says some patients are labelled "transphobes", "offenders" and "perpetrators".

       Talking at a Tory Party conference event, she said: "As part of its single-sex ward policy, the NHS allows fullbodied male adults to be placed next to women.… Women expressing discomfort [are referred to] as 'transphobic concerns'.

       "This is the NHS gaslighting women."

       Dr Helyar, of King's College Hospital, London, told of the sexual assault of two women in a mental health trust by a transgender patient - and claimed staff do not speak out due to fear.