Professor Michael Kidd has urged doctors to uphold “dignity, safety and respectful care” in the face of the heightened public debate on transgender healthcare.

“Transgender people have always been a part of our communities,” he told the AMA conference in Melbourne last week. “Sometimes revered and cherished, sometimes stigmatised and discriminated against.”

The former RACGP president added: “And as a gay man and a GP who has worked with many wonderful transgender and intersex people throughout my 40-year career, and as a member of the LGBTQI+ community, I’ve been concerned about some of the public discourse and the impact it is having on vulnerable people.”

He said doctors were there to offer compassionate support: “Whatever views are expressed in public discussion, dignity, safety and respectful care must remain at their centre.”