A Psychiatrist In Fife #1
This blog post contains wording about suicide that some people may find triggering. If you need support, and you are in the UK, please call 111 or Samaritans 116 123.
Summary
A psychiatrist in Fife #1 documents a serious incident of discrimination, that occurred whilst I was living in Fife. A psychiatrist, who had never met me or spoken to me – I didn’t know who he was – went into my medical records, and wrote a letter about me, which claimed that I have Factitious Disorder. He said that my facial pain is all made up ‘to feed the need to have a sick role.’ The psychiatrist sent this letter out to multiple agencies. The letter is now on my Scottish Medical and Social Work Records. This is an injustice that I will take to my grave.
My Hope
In the 50 years that I have been alive, there has been no mention of Factitious disorder anywhere on my medical records. The publication of this letter heavily influenced the way that I was viewed by the medical fraternity in Scotland. I am writing about this incredibly vulnerable incident because I want to raise awareness about the dangers of mental health discrimination within the system. I may never get justice for what has happened to me, but I am determined to prevent other vulnerable adults, from experiencing this level of assault and discrimination.
Context
In October, 2019, I fell into crisis. The impact of being knocked back by 13 NHS Trusts, on top of dealing with unrelenting facial and orbital pain for so many years, took its toll. The trigger to my breakdown, was the first incident that I wrote about in Medical Gaslighting #1 and a Head and Neck Unit in northwest England, who rejected my GP referral, with no reason provided. I want to avoid talking about my mental health at this point, to avoid conflating the physical and the mental. However, the impact that this ten-year fight to get treatment has had on my mental health has been profound.
Moving to Fife
I thought that if I crossed the border into Scotland, that I may get a better response from the medical services there, regarding my facial pain. In January, 2020, I left England and moved up to Fife. I arrived in Fife, in crisis. I was referred to the Mental Health Team, and I was admitted, under my request, onto a psychiatric ward for two weeks, to give me some respite. Following my discharge from the ward, I was assigned a Community Psychiatric Nurse (CPN). She phoned me on a weekly basis, to help me to manage my distress levels about my unresolved facial pain. I was not under the care of any psychiatrist.
The Scene
My GP in Fife referred me to an Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) department, locally, regarding my facial pain. I saw an ENT Consultant at an NHS Hospital in November, 2020. He agreed to do an MRI scan of my parotid gland, and to then refer me to a Tertiary Head and Neck Unit. I went back to see this consultant after my scan. When I entered his consultation room, he had a face like thunder.
‘What’s wrong? I asked.
‘I have a letter here from your psychiatrist,’ he said. He had a menacing glare.
‘I don’t have a psychiatrist,’ I replied. Because, I didn’t.
He wheeled his chair forward, so that his face was close up to mine. ‘This psychiatrist says that you have Factitious Disorder, and that this is all fictionalization and somatization,’ he said, banging his pen on the desk.
‘Who is this man? I asked. ‘What is his name?’
The Consultant told me the psychiatrist’s name. I had never heard of this man. I genuinely did not know who he was. It was the consultant’s damning glare, that was so destabilising. This was a brutal attack on my integrity. It was a knife in the back from a stranger, akin to no other treachery.
What is Factitious Disorder?
Factitious Disorder is a serious mental disorder, in ‘which someone deceives others by appearing sick, by purposely getting sick or by self-injury. Factitious disorder symptoms can range from mild (slight exaggeration of symptoms) to severe (previously called Munchausen syndrome). The person may make up symptoms or even tamper with medical tests to convince others that treatment is needed.[1]
Doomed
My left ear pain was worsening. I was getting violent attacks of Pulsatile Tinnitus and my ear felt full. I was concerned, that I would not get a fair hearing about this, following the publication of this letter. The ENT consultant did still refer me to the Tertiary Head and Neck Unit, but he included this condemning psychiatrist’s letter, with his referral. This would undoubtedly affect the next consultant’s view of me. I stood no chance of getting any medical help now. My back was right up against the wall. My fists were in handcuffs.
This was mind-boggling. I had moved all the way up to Scotland, in search of medical help. Someone I had never even heard of had come up from behind, and shot me, for no reason. How could this happen? Was it even legal? I stood outside the hospital, trembling. I sent a text to my dear friend, Serena. Please call me, it’s urgent. I pressed send nine times.
The Psychiatrist
My friend came to see me that night. It was during the second national lockdown. We stood on my porch, two feet apart, both wearing facemasks. Serena told me that she had looked this psychiatrist up. He had only recently come out of an inquest, regarding the suicide of an eleven-year-old girl, who had hung herself, whilst under his care. I googled him. These are some of the links that I saw, online, about this psychiatrist.
Sophie and the Silent Experts (updated) – AntiDepAware
SHERIFFDOM OF SHERIFF COURT (scotcourts.gov.uk)
Inquiry hears Sophie, 13, could have been saved if system of support was in place (thecourier.co.uk)
The Inquest
The inquest into the girl’s suicide was damning. The Sheriff stated that if greater precautions had been taken, that the girl’s death could have been avoided. It was found that the system of care was confusing, the risk assessment and management was defective, recording of patient care was defective, and there was failure found to keep full records, particularly recording discussions between clinicians. The Sheriff found failure to categorise the girl’s suicide risk, lack of any formal diagnosis, and a lack of interaction with her school.
I couldn’t believe what I was reading. I looked at the dates. This psychiatrist had only come out of this inquest in August, 2020. He wrote this letter about me, in December, 2020, only five months later. I felt sick. Only five months after the inquest into his patient’s suicide, he started a position as a locum psychiatrist in Fife. He went into my medical records and he set off a lethal grenade.
The Citizens Commission on Human Rights
The Citizens Commission on Human Rights, (CCHR) is a non-profit mental health watchdog. It investigates abuse in the fields of psychiatry and psychology. It was co-founded in 1969, when people were still warehoused, abused and stripped of their rights. ‘Citizens Commission on Human Rights has long fought to restore basic inalienable human rights to the field of mental health, including, but not limited to, full informed consent regarding the medical legitimacy of psychiatric diagnosis.’[2]
I saw that The Citizen’s Commission on Human Rights’ website, listed this psychiatrist as one of the seven psychiatrists in the UK, responsible for the suicide of a patient.
Suicide While Under Psychiatric Care (cchr.org.uk)
I phoned them, and spoke with the director. He was very approachable, and confirmed that the CCHR knew of this psychiatrist. The director urged me to report this incident to The General Medical Council, (GMC) on the grounds of discrimination. He kindly offered to write me a letter of support. I don’t have faith in complaints procedures, particularly not with large regulatory bodies, but after I had seen the information about this psychiatrist online, I knew that I had a responsibility to act.
The Human Rights Act, 1998
‘The Human Rights Act 1998 sets out the fundamental rights and freedoms that everyone in the UK is entitled to.’
Equality and Human Rights Commission.
The scale of this injustice felt like an infringement of my human rights. I did not know who this psychiatrist was. How could he have therefore, written and published a letter on NHS letterheaded paper, stating that I have this serious mental disorder? I was in a state of deep distress and anxiety. I felt violated. The second organisation that I contacted was The Equality and Human Rights Commission, who signposted me to The Equality Advisory Support Service, (EASS). They provide non-legal advice to individuals who have experienced discrimination and breaches of their Human Rights. EASS thought that this letter, written and published by this psychiatrist, was a breach of two of my human rights.
My Human Rights
The two Articles from The Human Rights Act, that EASS thought this psychiatrist had breached were;
Article 8– Respect for Your Private Life, House and Correspondence. This includes the breach of my physical and psychological integrity, and the right to not be harmed.
Article 14– The protection from Discrimination. This means that you cannot be discriminated against on any status, which includes disability.
This psychiatrist had, without doubt, breached and undermined my integrity. It was a vicious attack, and a violent form of discrimination. He published this letter, so it was now available to view on my records. He also sent it out to multiple agencies. This made his action a potential breach of my human right to privacy.
I want this poisonous letter removed from my records. The Equality Advisory Support Service told me that I would need to go through the Human Rights Court to challenge it. The law dictates that you have one year and one day, from the incident, to take legal action. There was no way that I had the strength go to court; keeping myself alive was taking up all of my drive. I didn’t know what action I was going to take, but I knew that I had to act, not only to get justice for myself, but for those in the queue behind me. I would do whatever I could, to ensure that this unjust attack on my integrity would never happen again to anyone else.
Foot Notes
[1] Factitious disorder – Symptoms and causes – www.mayoclinic.org
Resources and Articles
People who have been affected by psychiatric abuse, are encouraged to contact the Citizens Commission on Human Rights and report what has happened. Reporting of psychiatric abuse and harm (cchr.org.uk)
Homepage | EHRC (equalityhumanrights.com)
The Human Rights Act | EHRC (equalityhumanrights.com)
Psychological Abuse: Types, Impact, and Coping Strategies (verywellmind.com)
Psychiatry, Abuses of | Encyclopedia.com
Abuse in Mental Health Services
The Ethics of Armchair Diagnosis