Press Release from Rebecca Hansen

[Ember]

https://www.facebook.com/notes/just...s-release-from-rebecca-hansen/667282363333224

March 16, 2014 at 11:17pm

"We have been sent this Press Release from Rebecca Hansen - Chairman of the ME Association, Denmark."

Fight over Diagnosis Leads to Hearing

Who decides if the cause of an illness is physical or psychological? Should psychiatrists have the right to incarcerate patients and force psychological treatment if they disagree with a physical diagnosis?

A dispute over the cause and treatment of a young woman’s illness led to her being forcibly removed from her parent’s care on Feb. 12, 2013. The psychiatrists responsible for this claim she has a mental illness (somatoform illness), while her doctors and parents insist she has a physical neurological illness called ME. The Danish woman, Karina Hansen, is still hospitalized against her will and forced to receive treatments that have been proven to hurt ME patients (1). Karina's sister reports that Karina is much worse than before she was hospitalized. You can read Karina’s story here:
http://www.prohealth.com/library/showArticle.cfm?libid=18739&site=articles

This heated conflict will now be discussed at an official hearing at the Danish parliament on March 19th in Copenhagen. (2)

The psychiatrists in charge of Karina work at The Research Clinic for Functional Disorders and Psychosomatics in Aarhus, Denmark. (3) This clinic has created so much patient dissatisfaction that 16 patient associations requested that the clinic be investigated. A hearing has now been called and the Hansen Family’s lawyer is scheduled to make a presentation about their case. Other speakers include doctors who are specialists in conditions this clinic treats with purely psychological methods. These conditions include whiplash, fibromyalgia, IBS, PMS, Chronic Pelvic Pain, etc.

A Danish Justina Pelletier?
Karina Hansen’s story has many parallels to the story of American teenager Justina Pelletier. Both girls were forcibly hospitalized in February last year and both sets of parents were accused of mistreating their daughter by following medical advice from experts in the girls’ respective diseases. Justina has mitochondrial disease. In both cases, the psychiatrists in charge refused to agree to a second opinion. And in both cases, the human rights of the patient and the parents have been completely ignored.

Justina’s story will be told on the Dr. Phil show on March 17th (4). Karina's case will be discussed at the open hearing in the Danish parliament on March 19th. The hearing will be streamed live and later posted on Youtube. The hearing will be in Danish, but an English language statement about the hearing will be released within a week from this source.

Rebecca Hansen - ME Association, Denmark - reh@me-foreningen.dk

1
http://www.iacfsme.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=Rd2tIJ0oHqk=&

2
http://www.ft.dk/Folketinget/udvalg...et/Nyheder/2014/02/funktionelle lidelser.aspx

3
http://funktionellelidelser.dk/en/about-the-clinic/

4
http://www.examiner.com/article/dr-phil-talks-with-parents-of-hospital-kidnapped-justina-pelletier

 

[adreno]

I can't believe this is going on in a civilized country. Hopefully something good will come out of the hearing, but I'm skeptical. I guess Per Fink is the danish equivalent of Simon Wessely.

 

[A.B.]

These psychiatrists are acting like inquisitors by imprisoning and torturing patients until they renounce their "false belief in organic illness". The supposed "true belief" is that in psychosomatic illness, which cannot be proven to be present or absent and is thus entirely a matter of faith. This should not be happening in a civilized society.

Some might object to calling it torture, but imprisonment against one's will, isolation from family, being forced to take medication with unpleasant effects, as well being forced to do exercise while being severely fatigued do qualify as torture in my opinion.

 

[adreno]

This "treatment" is not only inhumane, it is also unscientific, as there is no evidence that psychosomatic illness exits.

Their argument is a logical fallacy, as they conclude that since there is no objective signs of physical illness, it must be psychological (for which there is no objective evidence either). Their model doesn't explain anything, and it is dangerous since anyone can be accused of psychosomatics which cannot be disproven. It is no more scientifically valid than saying someone is possessed.

For any model to be scientific, it must be falsifiable, and theirs isn't. It is in effect pseudoscience.

 

[A.B.]

Their model doesn't explain anything, and it is dangerous since anyone can be accused of psychosomatics which cannot be disproven. It is no more scientifically valid than saying someone is possessed.

Or a witch.

 

[Little Bluestem]

Yes, these psychologist are nothing more than the modern version of witch doctors.

 

[alex3619]

Fallacy, pseudoscience, belief, nonscience, inquisition, I have blogged about these things before. Moreover the medical profession has been warned about this since about 1922 I think, which means 92 years now. The entire profession bears some responsibility, as a group, for much of this. Psychosomatic medicine, in any of its current incarnations (but not at about the 1860s) is unproven dogmatic hypothesis, and its unethical and immoral to practice it as though its about something real. Its all unsubstantiated opinion, and the time that doctors can speculate and incarcerate has to be brought to a close.

PS I forgot the big glowing neon-pink elephant on my list: Zombie Science. Plus churnalism. Plus the decline of investigative journalism. Plus what I think should be called Zombie Economics. Its all connected.

 

[Dx Revision Watch]

Consultation on functional disorders, 19 March 2014:

The Parliamentary Health and Prevention Committee invites you to a consultation on functional disorders. The hearing will take place on Wednesday 19 March 2014 kl. 9:00 to 12:00 in the Parliament Hall at Christiansborg.

The committee has invited a number of experts to debate the following two general themes:

- Introduction to functional disorders and the key issues.
- Functional disorders and diagnoses.

There will be presentations from the following:

- Professor Per Fink from Research Clinic for Functional Disorders
- Practitioner Stig Gerdes
- Lawyer Kjeld Parsberg
- Chiropractor, lecturer and PhD Lars Uhrenholt
- Specialist Dr. with. Henrik Isager
- Professor and Consultant Peter Bytzer

After the presentations of each topic there will be a possibility that MPs can ask questions. If time permits, will be opened up for questions from the audience.

Source: https://www.facebook.com/meforeningen.dk

Broadcast:

Så er høringen om funktionelle lidelser den 19.3.2014 lagt ud på nettet!
Consultation on functional disorders

http://www.ft.dk/webtv/video/20131/suu/tv.2106.aspx

 

[Ember]

Justice for Karina Hansen

We have a very brief update on yesterday's hearing in Denmark. We will do our best to provide more information as translations are finished. No mention of individual cases was allowed. Karina Hansen therefore was not discussed. This hearing was about functional disorders and key issues regarding this diagnosis. All the speakers, except for Per Fink of course, were against Per Fink's ideology. Here is a link to some coverage of the hearing. http://nyhederne.tv2.dk/samfund/201...funktionelle-lidelser-der-skal-gøres-noget-nu

 

[A.B.]

All the speakers, except for Per Fink of course, were against Per Fink's ideology.

That's good news. Most of them seem to realize that diagnosis of "functional disorder" is harmful rather than helpful.

 

[A.B.]

The hearing will be in Danish, but an English language statement about the hearing will be released within a week from this source.

Does anyone know whether the English language statement has been made public yet?

 

[Cheshire]

A letter written by her parents has been translated and can be found there: https://www.facebook.com/JusticeForKarinaHansen

February 12th, 2013, was the day our daughter, Karina, who suffers from severe M.E. (G 93.3) was forcibly committed, stripped of her human rights to decide what treatment she wants for her disease (ME G 93.3), her right to decide what doctor she wants to treat her, her choice of who should look after her personal and financial interests and who should speak for her to the outside world. She has since been under the treatment of a psychiatrist from FFL (Research Clinic for Functional Disorders ) against her and our will.



Karina's diagnosis (ME G93.3) was originally given by King Christians Arthritis Hospital in 2008, where she was a patient for 3 weeks. Later it was confirmed by 3 doctors who all have special knowledge of or expertise in the somatic (physical) disorder ME (G 93.3). Karina have been through years of physical examinations, including psychiatric, and has at no point in time been declared mentally ill in any way. (Documented in her medical records)



Despite this, she was incarcerated as a disqualified person, noted by two doctors with no special knowledge of the disease ME (G 93.3). A psychiatrist from the Liaison Clinic in Copenhagen that has never been in contact with Karina or us (her parents), has from information about her condition given by the established authorities declared that her ME symptoms can be aligned with insanity. It was the Board Of Health that decided Karina should have a surprise visit by a doctor that should decide if she could be incarcerated for psychiatric treatment (Documented in print).



Karina has now been incarcerated for over a year at Hammel Neurocenter, under the treatment of a psychiatrist from FFL. These psychiatrists have without special knowledge of Karina's disease ME (G 93.3) converted her physical disease into a mental illness that still does not have a diagnostic code (PAWS). (Documented via microphone).



The leading physicians at Hammel Neurocenter and the psychiatrists from FFL, that are responsible for Karina's treatment have been given countless information about symptoms in severe ME. They have noticed these symptoms in Karina, but describes it as psychiatric symptoms (documented via microphone). They are informed that abnormal organic differences can be found via proper testing and analyzed by recognized laboratories abroad. Some of the worlds most recognized ME specialists have been in touch with the doctors in charge to give advice on how to care for someone as sick as Karina to make sure she is not wrongly treated. A wrong treatment will have fatal consequences for Karina's chance of recovery from her condition, and in several cases wrong treatment of ME patients have resulted in death. (Partly in writing, partly on microphone).



Countless times have we sincerely requested that Karina gets a second opinion, by doctors with special knowledge about ME, so they can confirm or not if there is anything organic that creates Karina's condition. The foreign experts are offering to come to Hammel Neurocenter to check on Karina and make sure the appropriate tests are taken and analyzed, and thereby give a second opinion (documented in print). This is consequently denied by the physicians and psychiatrist in charge (documented via microphone).



Their reasoning for denying a second opinion from specialists in ME is deeply worrying. Their arguments are contradictory and boil down to the fact that they want to be alone in treating her, and don't wish anyone outside the building (Hammel Neurocenter) to interfere with the treatment, and no blood tests should therefore be sent outside the building. At the same time, we are told they are cooperating with english psychiatrists that will see Karina at Hammel Neurocenter (documented via microphone).



The updates we have been giving during the incarceration from the people in charge of Karina's treatment is deeply worrying. The people in charge keep falling into contradictions. They contradict each other time and time again. One leading physician accuses the other of telling us lies (documented via writing, telephone notes, and microphone).



The whole time Karina has been incarcerated we, the parents, have been refused to be allowed to see her with varying and contradicting explanations as to why. (documented via microphone and in print). Exceptionally her big sister has been given permission to see her twice. The last time was in April 2013 but with conditions for the visit. She was told what she was allowed to say and what she could not say. She was told she should show Karina that she supported the treatment forced upon her, and she was not allowed to go into her room alone. It was a condition that the staff was present (conversation at a meeting and recorded on microphone). However, for Karina's sister it was humanely impossible to act positive. She could clearly see there was a deterioration in Karina's condition, and was so shocked that she started crying. Karina was deathly pale and looked very sick and didn't even recognize her own sister, who routinely had contact with Karina before the incarceration, as she is a registered nurse and helped in caring for Karina at home.



Karina has not been given the opportunity to contact the outside world since the day after her incarceration when her cellphone's battery went flat. The physicians in charge does not want to help in making sure she has access to a working cellphone (recorded on microphone). The last time we heard from Karina was when she called home on February 13th 2013 and said "How can I get out of here - I can't take this". That same day she made her last call to the police (printed from Karina's phone records).



It is unbearable to think about the fear and pain Karina has to suffer through every day. She has become an unwilling guinea pig for psychiatry. She has become so because the doctors and psychiatrists in charge have no experience in treating patients with severe ME (documented via phone notes, and a meeting with witnesses).



The psychiatrist in charge has notified us that it does not matter what diagnosis Karina has (in print). She is daily exposed to physical retraining and sense-therapy. She is not asked if she can manage this or that, but is ordered to do it. No matter how she tries to protect herself against these abusive actions and mistreatment - like crying, turning around, scratch the ergotherapist . She is up against a bigger force that has control over her and has deemed her to be a psychiatric case (recorded on microphone).



The psychiatrist in charge has consequently refused that Karina is given a second opinion where she can be seen by a foreign professional with special knowledge about the disease ME (G 93.3), and where they will take special tests recommended for ME patients. (recorded on microphone).



It is deeply disturbing that something like this can happen in a country like Denmark, and in such an enlightened world as we live in. There are numerous scientifically proven and well-documented biomedical research results from abroad that proves ME is a physical disease. It is not a disease that can be trained away, on the contrary it can give fatal chronic damages. The psychiatrists have not succeeded in making Karina able to walk after a year of rehabilitation. On the contrary, they have succeeded in taking away her ability to speak, recognize her own family (sister), and cause her horrific symptoms that were not present before the incarceration. The psychiatrist tries to blow this off by telling that Karina just needs to show that she can walk and speak and that all her symptoms are psychiatric (recorded on microphone and print).



A whole world is in shock over Karina's fate and how ME patients are met with mistrust and faulty treatment in the Danish healthcare system. In these years, science abroad walks forward with evidence of extreme physical abnormalities in ME (G 93.3), but in Denmark no one wants to hear or see this.



We are a family, parents and siblings, that are filled with grief, helplessness and wrath over that something so horrible can happen at all, and are deeply worried over Karina's ongoing fate.



Regards

Per & Ketty Hansen

The whole thing is totaly insane. I don't understand why the psychiatrist are so opposed to physical tests. If their theory is right, there will be nothing wrong, the diagnosis of functional symptoms will be confirmed, and the patient won't be able to reinforce her wrong medical beliefs. Or are they afraid of finding something that would make their theory collapse like a house of cards...

And I can't see how preventing someone from seeing her family could be constructive. Even with disfunctional families, the aim of psychotherapy is to make everybody able to live together.

 

[Seven7]

I would be on the phone with every reporter over the whole world and every single human rights organization.

 

[snowathlete]

Harrowing. This poor girl. It's like something from a novel of some split reality where the nazis won the war. Except that this is real. Wow.

 

[Countrygirl]

https://www.facebook.com/changeformeaustralia/posts/757016160982937?fref=nf



A letter from one of Australia's most pre-eminent ME specialists and passionate advocates.

"Who will be held responsible if Karina Hansen dies?

John Whiting via co-cure

Mar 31 2014

Dear readers,

I have been personally involved in a case in Brisbane similar to that of Karina Hansen. At that time, I had no support from my local colleagues. The private hospital legally removed me from my patient's case and I have no knowledge as to whether my patient is alive or dead now.

However, I have also witnessed several other unnecessary deaths here in Brisbane due to ME/CFS under circumstances of medical negligence relating to ignorance over the proper management of these disorders.

In Karina Hansen's case, medical expertise assistance has been offered to her current treating doctors. Unfortunately, Karina's doctors have refused such assistance. I suggest that they fear criticism and accusations of negligence. Karina is literally becoming the sacrificial lamb in the name of psychosomatic illness. However, Karina should not become a martyr to our efforts, that is to ensure that ME/CFS becomes recognised as a legitimate medical illness with real organic underpinnings. Karina's life should be respected, regardless of other agendas.

By now, Karina may well have developed secondary psychiatric phenomena whilst in hospital brought about by inappropriate care due to the ill informed efforts of those trying to help her. The fact that she is still in hospital and is no better and by the sound of things, is much worse than when she was admitted to hospital, in itself, is evidence that her care givers have no idea about the illness that they are trying to treat. How many illnesses do we know of, that require such lengthy in hospital care?

I will assure you that the medical records of her hospitalisation will not reflect the true history of Karina's inpatient experiences. I kept my own personal medical records of the patient I looked after 15 or so years ago, as I could see how my observations differed so greatly from those of other staff (such as nurses) and that what was documented in the hospital records did not reflect the reality of the situation. Her records were clearly doctored in favour of the hospital's image and reputation.

For an individual such as Karina to be denied the right to live or die because of political and so called 'medical controversy' is beyond the bounds of what modern medicine is intended to achieve.

I personally accuse the doctors looking after Karina of medical negligence, on the ground of the information I have cited above. My goal is accountability now, as my prediction is that Karina is no better than she was before and is likely to be much worse and not better since she was admitted to hospital.

Dr John L Whiting
Brisbane, Australia
---------------------------------------------
Send posts to CO-CURE@listserv.nodak.edu"

Please like Justice for Karina Hansen to follow her story and so you know how to take action to support her.

Hope for Change
Amara

 

[Desdinova]

Shes the ultimate guinea pig. If they can break her and succeed with their treatment plan they will have disproved all the Medical Doctors around the world who support ME as a physical disorder of the body. In some wars armies fight over hills, valleys or plains. In this war they fight over, studies, definitions and patients. Unfortunately the other side is willing to employ scorched earth policy.

 

[Cheshire]

On the facebook page Justice For Karina, there's the translation of a Per & Ketty's (Karina's parents) letter to the politicians published in the Danish newspaper Ekstrabladet.

DOCTOR FORBIDS MOTHER AND FATHER TO SEE DEATHLY PALE DAUGHTER.
The Hansen family are grieving and infuriated by the way the system is treating them and Karina. For more then a year, they have been denied access to see her. Now they are collecting money for lawyer bills.

By: Thomas Harder

Under Picture text:
Per & Ketty are fighting for permission to see their daughter, Karina, at Hammel Neurocenter for the second year in a row.

- February 12th, 2013, was the day our daughter, Karina, who suffers from severe M.E. (G 93.3) was forcibly committed, stripped of her human rights to decide what treatment she wants for her disease (ME G 93.3), her right to decide what doctor she wants to treat her, her choice of who should look after her personal and financial interests and who should speak for her to the outside world.

- She has since been under the treatment of psychiatrists Per Fink and Nils Balle Christensen from FFL, where psychiatrist Nils Balle Christensen has the overall repsonsibility for Karinas treatment.

SEE ALSO: The system have stolen Karina. Protests in two countries.
(We have translated this before, to be read here: http://justiceforkarina.webs.com/apps/blog/show/31965852-danish-media-attention

)

This is how Per & Ketty Hansen starts their story of Karina, who - as far as the family knows - is at Hammel Neurocenter. Karina's mother, father, sister and brothers are not allowed to see her. The doctors tell that Karina doesn't want any visitors these days. They have said that since april 1st of last year, and mother and father is about to be worn out.

IT'S BEEN YEARS
Right now they are crowdfunding for a new eound in the courtrooms - the first one cost a big amunt of the familys savings, and since they lost the case, they are now going to Landsretten (district court) for the right to see their daughter. Per and Kettys story continues:

Karina's diagnosis (ME G93.3) was originally given by King Christians Arthritis Hospital in 2008, where she was a patient for 3 weeks. Later it was confirmed by 3 doctors who all have special knowledge of the somatic (physical) disorder ME (G 93.3). Karina have been through years of physical examinations, including psychiatric, and has at no point in time been declared mentally ill in any way. (Documented in her medical records)

Despite this, she was incarcerated as a disqualified person, as noted by two doctors Henrik Trøger and Christian Møller Nielsen, without these doctors having any expertise in the disease ME (G93.3). Psychiatrist Jens Nørbæk (Nørbak) from the Liaison Clinic in Copenhagen that has never been in contact with Karina or us, her parents, has from information about her condition given by the established authorities declared that her ME symptoms can be aligned with insanity.

- It was the Board Of Health that decided Karina should have a surprise visit by a doctor who then should decide if she could be incarcerated for psychiatric treatment (Documented in print).

NOW THEY HAVE GIVEN A MYSTERY DIAGNOSIS
Karina has now been incarcerated for over a year at Hammel Neurocenter, under the treatment of psychiatrist Nils Balle Christensen from FFL that has have without expertise in her disease ME (G 93.3) converted her physical disease into a mental illness that still does not have a diagnostic code (PAWS). (Documented via microphone).

- Doctor Jens Gyring and leading physician Merete Stubkjær at Hammel Neurocenter, and psychiatrist Nils Balle Christensen from FFL, that are responsible for Karina's treatment have been given countless information about symptoms in severe ME.

- They have noticed these symptoms in Karina, but describes it as psychiatric symptoms (documented via microphone). They are informed that abnormal organic differences can be found via proper testing and analyzed by recognized laboratories abroad.

Some of the worlds most recognized ME specialists have been in touch with the doctors in charge to give advice on how to care for someone as sick as Karina, to make sure she is not wrongly treated. A wrong treatment will have fatal consequences for Karina's chance of recovery from her condition, and in several cases wrong treatment of ME patients have resulted in death. (Partly in writing, partly on microphone).

NO SECOND OPINION
- Countless times have we sincerely requested Jens Gyring, Merete Stubkjær, Nils Balle Christensen andd Karina's guardian Kaj Stendorf that Karina gets a second opinion, by doctors with special knowledge about ME, so they can confirm or not if there is anything organic that creates Karina's condition. The foreign experts are offering to come to Hammel Neurocenter to check on Karina and make sure the appropriate tests are taken and analyzed, and thereby give a second opinion (documented in print). This is consequently denied by treatment-responsible doctors Jens Gyring, Merete Stubkjør and psychiatrist Nils Balle Christensen (documented via microphone).

It goes on there: https://www.facebook.com/JusticeForKarinaHansen

There are no words to describe the hell Karina and her family are living....

 

[Countrygirl]

I have just received this message in my news feed. Her poor family! I cannot bear to think how Karina is suffering.Horrid news!

We are saddened to announce that the judgement in Karina Hansen's case did not go in her favour. She will remain disempowered without the right to choose her own treatment. This is a very difficult time for the Hansen family. Ketty Hansen (Karina's mother) will be providing a statement to share with all of you soon, but let us all be patient as they process this difficult news. We are focusing on what will be next in the effort to free Karina. We will share more on that soon. Please be thinking of what you might be able and willing to do to aid this family. We cannot thank each of you enough for all of your support.
‪#‎FreeKarinaRespectME‬

We would like to remind you that a fund is set up to aid in legal fees. We do not administrate this fund so please go to the original site if you have questions. The Paypal email address is s.g@dadlnet.dk. Further information about who runs this donation site and more detailed donation information can be found here

 

[worldbackwards]

The new inquisition.

 

[Min]

Appalling, she is being tortured.

Prof Peter White is involved in this case, yet still the UK's ME Association, Action for ME and Action for Young ME charities choose to work with him in their Collaborative.