brian nicholson detained in psyschiatric unit with me cfs for 3 years

[Countrygirl]

The great difficulty Bohemian faces is that his psychiatrist refuses to allow any other doctor to participate in his care.

He has been the patient of Dr Matthias who is a specialist in POTS, but Dr D (psych) wrote to him and told him that Bohemian could no longer be his patient. (I cannot recall the phraseology). Dr D knew nothing about POTS or ME, but has made repeated steps to block any other doctor from helping B. with his ME. Even when a doctor wanted to speak in B.'s defence at a tribunal, Dr D prevented that doctor from attending. Later, we discovered that was irregular and against the tribunal rules.

Whenever Bohemian attempted to obtain help for his ME symptoms, Dr Dickinson blocked his way and cut him off from other medics.

He has very pronounced nystagmus and took himself off to the A&E department beneath the psychiatric ward to ask for a doctor to examine his eyes and make a diagnosis. Dr D sent his staff to bring Bohemian back. The A&E doctor was concerned and came up to the ward but Dr D barred him from seeing his patient. Dr D wrote in the medical notes of which I have a copy that the nystagmus was evidence of delusional belief. (I think I mentioned it earlier ) Just who is delusional here?

Dr D appears to have the same powers as a certain psych in Denmark.

 

[CantThink]

@Countrygirl

It beggars belief doesn't it. I feel as if I understand how this can happen, but at the same time I feel as if I don't!

I wonder about Human Rights organisations. People with mental health problems who have been sectioned, deserve medical treatment for potential physical ailments. Surely they are entitled to consult with other doctors for physical health problems..?!

The problem is, as I understand it, like in Denmark there is this 'Blocker Doctor'. Somehow what they say trumps all else. I have to wonder what safeguards are there to prevent a psychopathic personality from having complete control of somebody else in this kind of setting? It seems none. The same for what the legal process is for addressing a sectioned person's right to medical treatment for physical symptoms such as the nystagmus.

 

[Countrygirl]

@Countrygirl

It beggars belief doesn't it. I feel as if I understand how this can happen, but at tue doche same time I feel as if I don't!

I wonder about Human Rights organisations. People with mental health problems who have been sectioned, deserve medical treatment for potential physical ailments. Surely they are entitled to consult with other doctors for physical health problems..?!

The problem is, as I understand it, like in Denmark there is this 'Blocker Doctor'. Somehow what they say trumps all else. I have to wonder what safeguards are there to prevent a psychopathic personality from having complete control of somebody else in this kind of setting? It seems none. The same for what the legal process is for addressing a sectioned person's right to medical treatment for physical symptoms such as the nystagmus.

Yes, it does seem that rogue doctors in this position are all powerful and unaccountable. PALS were useless and were only prepared to listen to the doctor as was the solicitor who was supposed to be representing Bohemian. B was too unwell to attend the hearing, but when I read the minutes it claimed that he was there and participated in the proceedings. It was totally untrue.

In theory, of course, a patient in a psychiatric ward does have the right to have their physical illness treated, but not under Dr D it seems.

 

[Invisible Woman]

I seem to remember there being something in the press in the last 6 months or so about mental health patients not receiving adequate medical care for other conditions. It is just unacceptable.

If someone has a broken leg, they can still get the flu or have heart disease or whatever. Do they think being mentally ill magically inoculates people against developing other conditions?

It seems you can't develop the common cold these days without a CBT therapist somewhere getting involved and being "concerned" about your mental well-being. So why is it that someone with a mental health disorder should have their physical healthcare ignored?

My heart goes out to B. His doctor seems to want to dehumanize him and deprive him of his basic rights. This tells us quite a lot about this doctor's mental health/personality issues.

 

[mollymustard]

I'm very new to the forum and just read this thread. I feel so saddened by what is happening to Brian.
I have suspected CFS so when it comes to the way ME/CFS patients are treated by specialists I've still got lots to learn but this is seriously frightening. I can't believe this has happened in the twenty first century and it sickens me that one authoritarian Dr can completely isolate a patient from all other help and medical staff.
I'll be thinking about you Brian!

 

[wastwater]

If you follow the idea of impaired T cells leading to increased interleukin 2 then the side effects of increased IL-2 can effect kidneys and lead to a schitzoeffective type presentation,among other effects.

 

[chipmunk1]

I'm very new to the forum and just read this thread. I feel so saddened by what is happening to Brian.
I have suspected CFS so when it comes to the way ME/CFS patients are treated by specialists I've still got lots to learn but this is seriously frightening. I can't believe this has happened in the twenty first century and it sickens me that one authoritarian Dr can completely isolate a patient from all other help and medical staff.
I'll be thinking about you Brian!

I am against forced psychiatric treatment in most cases but i think this is a case where forced monthly antipsychotic injections could do a lot of good. Why are insane psychiatrists still allowed to practice?

In theory, of course, a patient in a psychiatric ward does have the right to have their physical illness treated, but not under Dr D it seems

and a doctor can't take that right away. It's a serious violation to deny them treatment. Might well be illegal as well.

 

[MeSci]

Could the psych be reported to someone? The GMC? The police? Is this an NHS facility? Is the psych an NHS psych?

 

[jimells]

Yes, it does seem that rogue doctors in this position are all powerful and unaccountable. PALS were useless and were only prepared to listen to the doctor as was the solicitor who was supposed to be representing Bohemian.

It reminds me of some 1950s B movie where the unwanted woman is carted off to an asylum as everyone tells her, "It's for your own good, Dearie." I guess the more things change, the more they stay the same.

 

[CantThink]

Yes, it does seem that rogue doctors in this position are all powerful and unaccountable. PALS were useless and were only prepared to listen to the doctor as was the solicitor who was supposed to be representing Bohemian. B was too unwell to attend the hearing, but when I read the minutes it claimed that he was there and participated in the proceedings. It was totally untrue.

In theory, of course, a patient in a psychiatric ward does have the right to have their physical illness treated, but not under Dr D it seems.

I was having a read again about procedures (I had a read about this ages ago, but then got too fogged).

CAB had some really good (easy to understand) info.
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/h...-health-services-detained-sectioned-patients/

Summary:

If a complaint is made to PALS, which is not satisfactorily resolved by the hospital managers, it can be raised with the CQC. I think the 'access to other doctors', nystagmus, lack of emergency care (the A & E incident) fall under this. It does not cover wrongful sectioning itself.

Per year that B is detained under Sec 3, he is entitled to one tribunal regarding disputing his continued detention.

He should (I think) get legal aid & have an independent MH advocate.

Re: the psych drugs that B does not want fo take -

Treatment given compulsorily (without your consent) under the MHA can generally be given for as long as you are detained under section. (If you want to challenge your continued detention in hospital, see Discharge from hospital.) There are three exceptions:

• If psychiatric drugs have been given to a detained patient for three months without consent, section 58 MHA says an independent doctor must consider whether the patient should continue to receive them or not. This doctor is sent by the Mental Health Act Commission (MHAC) and is called a Second Opinion Appointed Doctor (SOAD).

From: http://www.mind.org.uk/information-...-to-treatment/mental-health-act/#.Vrei9zlFDqA

I was reading a human rights breach case on a legal blog. It seems the patient (or their family) needs to hire a specialist solicitor e.g. via
http://www.mhla.co.uk/find-a-lawyer/a-z-of-lawyers/.
The solicitor can also instruct a specialist barrister if they wish to take the case to court.

 

[CantThink]

Could the psych be reported to someone? The GMC? The police? Is this an NHS facility? Is the psych an NHS psych?

Yes.

: How do I make a complaint about the conduct of a psychiatrist?

You can complain directly to your psychiatrist. If you are unhappy with their response, you can complain to their employer, clinic or hospital. If the complaint is to report serious misconduct, you can complain to the General Medical Council (Tel: 0845 357 0022). The last step for dealing with unresolved complaints is to contact the Health Service Ombudsman (Tel: 0345 015 4033) who acts as a final arbitrator.

From: http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/healthadvice/treatmentswellbeing/faqshowtogethelp.aspx#complainconduct (which is the Royal college of Psychiatrists).

 

[sarah darwins]

For completeness, professional regulatory bodies are fond of saying things like "The last step for dealing with unresolved complaints is to contact the Health Service Ombudsman (Tel: 0345 015 4033) who acts as a final arbitrator."

In fact, an ombudsman isn't the 'final arbitrator' of anything. Their decisions can always be challenged, in the last resort through the courts under article 6 of the European Convention of Human Rights which "provides a general right to a hearing and an obligation on statutory bodies to act fairly."

 

[Countrygirl]

I am against forced psychiatric treatment in most cases but i think this is a case where forced monthly antipsychotic injections could do a lot of good. Why are insane psychiatrists still allowed to practice?



and a doctor can't take that right away. It's a serious violation to deny them treatment. Might well be illegal as well.

In theory, yes, but not when it is ME and the doctor doesn't accept its existence. Brian even has abnormal brain scans taken by Dr Hyde, but Dr D refused to allow him to present them for consideration. They discount ME despite our having a meeting with a junior doctor and discussing our concerns with him. Dr Hyde also visited the ward and gave the consultant an hour's 'lecture' on the disease, but to no avail. The consultant is not interested in Brian's physical illness.

In relation to doctors refusing to accept the existence of a disease, I phoned the local health authority's overseeing body. I was astonished to be told that it is the individual doctor's prerogative to decide whether a disease exists or not whatever the evidence. In other words, doctors who refuse to accept Brian's ME have the right to do so. Unbelievable I know, but this is what I was told.

 

[Countrygirl]

I was having a read again about procedures (I had a read about this ages ago, but then got too fogged).

CAB had some really good (easy to understand) info.
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/h...-health-services-detained-sectioned-patients/

Summary:

If a complaint is made to PALS, which is not satisfactorily resolved by the hospital managers, it can be raised with the CQC. I think the 'access to other doctors', nystagmus, lack of emergency care (the A & E incident) fall under this. It does not cover wrongful sectioning itself.

Per year that B is detained under Sec 3, he is entitled to one tribunal regarding disputing his continued detention.

He should (I think) get legal aid & have an independent MH advocate.

Re: the psych drugs that B does not want fo take -
From: http://www.mind.org.uk/information-...-to-treatment/mental-health-act/#.Vrei9zlFDqA

I was reading a human rights breach case on a legal blog. It seems the patient (or their family) needs to hire a specialist solicitor e.g. via
http://www.mhla.co.uk/find-a-lawyer/a-z-of-lawyers/.
The solicitor can also instruct a specialist barrister if they wish to take the case to court.

PALS are toothless. I have approached them over two different cases and each time they were only prepared to listen to the doctor and not the patient. I think they are just window dressing for the complaints' procedure and not of much use.

When that failed, we approached another organisation (it might have been the CQC............yes, I think it was) and asked for a safe-guarding order to be put in place for Brian as we were so concerned about the way he was being treated. According to their rules they are not permitted to notify the hospital when a request has been made. However, the day it went into operation, the ward sent for two 'heavies' from 'downstairs' to come to the ward and rough up Brian. They told him they knew they had been reported and threw him to the floor and kicked him in the kidneys. Brian is an extraordinarily mild mannered chap and I have no doubt he didn't deserve this abuse. He used his mobile phone to allow me to witness what was happening on the ward. Clearly the CQC tipped them off.

The following day I went to visit him with a doctor. His kidney region wasn't bruised fortunately but he was shaken up.

The consultant sent for him and told him to get rid of us.

Two of us then produced a massive and quite academic report that detailed Brian's medical history which I carefully documented and outlined the failures of the ward to treat him correctly in view of his ME and POTS and also their repeated abuse of his rights including the assault. We instigated a hospital inquiry and presented the report that was very lengthy to them. They no doubt went through the motions, but nothing changed. There is no other avenue left.

We tried solicitors, but in practice they do not listen to patients under section.

 

[CantThink]

@Countrygirl

I know you did everything you could for him CG.

The whole situation is so 'sick'. The tipping off, the cover up, everything. It is so similar to the KH case in Denmark in that there is this one controlling figure (abuser) who everyone else kowtows to, and if the patient didn't have mental health problems or brain damage at the start then they are likely to after being abused for so long.

Do you remember if the solicitor was one of the Mental Health Lawyers
Association ones?

I feel so angry that this can happen and that we are all powerless to help B. I know some of us have thrown around and discussed ideas of how we could help in the past, but a. I think we are very limited in what avenues there are that haven't already been pursued by you, and b. I'm conscious of not worsening his situation - e.g. what happened after the CQC complaint.

 

[Justin30]

Wow....this is like seriously depressing to read and feel awful for Brian and the treatment that is being imposed on him.

Its so unfortunate that british citizens are treated in such a mannor especially when the disease is proven to be real physical not mental illness.

I am from Canada and we are heavily influenced by what happens and is said in Britain. So much so that the city in which i live has one hospital that has a program for me/cfs patients. This program has recieved substantial pushback via the phycs in high positions that the protocol given to payients cobsists only of cbt, get, nutritionist, etc from what I have been told. Further they had LDN part of the protocol at one point which was promptly removed even after several patients were seeing improvements on it.

We need a biomarker and the NIH to stand up and take a leading role in finding it, so that people like Brian and others are not treated in such a mannor. The NIH is a reasearch facility they need to step up to plate just like Francis Collins said.

May I suggest a change.org petition? Just a thought.

I know I jumped all over the place but this degredation of sick people and the lack of government ackowledgement and funding makes so angry I crash from it.

 

[Invisible Woman]

This is the problem- the system's checks and balances don't work because of the old boys club mentality.

These doctors have a huge amount of power and are effectively answerable to no one whereas once you have a mental health diagnosis you become a non-person. PALS and the complaints system do seem to be just window dressing, as you say @ Country Girl.

Its sounds like you have explored many avenues and put of a great deal of effort into trying to help Brian Country Girl. I admire you for it. If there is anything I can do to help then please let me know.

It's so sickening.

 

[Countrygirl]

This is the problem- the system's checks and balances don't work because of the old boys club mentality.

These doctors have a huge amount of power and are effectively answerable to no one whereas once you have a mental health diagnosis you become a non-person. PALS and the complaints system do seem to be just window dressing, as you say @ Country Girl.

It's so sickening.

Spot on, Invisible Woman!

 

[Snowdrop]

Every time I read about this I can't help but think that there is a certain type of mentality that is drawn to this type of power abuse of the vulnerable. What is behind the impulse to do this to people?

 

[CantThink]

What is behind the impulse to do this to people?

IMHO...
Psychopathy.

All about exerting power, and deriving pleasure from the control & destruction of another... From what I have read, they live to destroy and then move on to the next victim or group of victims. These disordered people also typically have charismatic personalities and chameleon-like qualities so they can morph to fit situations and say the right thing to make others in awe of them or to get out of hot water.... They are very manipulative.

...psychopaths tend to feel a lack of remorse for destructive acts, but they are unable to feel empathy...

More recent studies by Scott Lilienfeld show that psychopaths display fearless dominance over other people, such as the kind of assertiveness prized in a courtroom or operating theatre.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/b...bs-attract-the-most-psychopaths-a6692656.html

What better way to exercise your power and control urges than as the doctor in charge of sectioning patients - you can imprison them for as long as you like if everyone else is drawn in by your magnetic persona.