Doctors worry about the stigma of mental illness

Doctors are worried about the stigma of having a mental illness Click here for the full story There are good reasons to be worried, because when doctors end up in the hands of the General Medical Council, their careers are over.





The General Medical Council has an old-fashioned view of mental ill health. If someone is not of "sound mind", then they are worse than Dr Shipman who was at least of" sound mind". The General Medical Council knows how dangerous doctors with mental health problems are, because they read the Sun. You know, the stories with headlines like "Psycho killer" - although to be fair to the Sun, even they have cleaned up their act.


The General Medical Council knows how much it helps a person's mental health to be put in trial in front of their peers, to have their psychiatric notes peered over by everyone from the Chairman to the Char lady.
1 - It stops doctors seeking help.
2 - It promotes stigma and discrimination. And
3 - It enhances the reputation of the medical profession.


Three birds with one stone! It worked in the middle ages, and it works now. It worked in Soviet Russia, where dissidents ended up in psychiatric wards.

The General Medical Council is weeding mental illness out of the medical profession. If you declare a mental illness, you won't be selected, if you have poor mental health as a student, - a bit of depression etc you will be suspended. And if the medical student conceals their mental health problems until later in their career, its easy - they get done for concealment! If you have feelings, get upset, or even too happy, leave medicine now. Those feelings will get you into trouble. Because if you have feelings, (as opposed to being a psychopath or sociopath) you are at RISK OF MENTAL ILLNESS.

Everyone with a "risk of mental illness", is a target for the General Medical Council. Health procedures include mental ill health and the "risk of mental ill health".

In 2003/4 9 of 215 doctors under GMC "supervision" by the health procedures, died. Three at least were suicide. Once this was brought to their attention, the GMC took appropriate action - they stopped collecting the information.


As Dr India and others will tell you, there is no escape from the Health Gulag. You cannot eliminate risk, so its safer to eliminate the doctor.


Nice work Philips, Catto, Rubin, Findlay and the soon to be appointed Niall Dickson

And Niall,

I will be disappointed if you don't carry on destroying doctors with mental health problems, or continue the quasi judicial show trials (Open to the public Monday to Friday lunchtime, London and Manchester) or the absurdities of medical regulation and revalidation. If you did try and do something positive, Dr Rita Pal and I might run out things to write about and that would be a shame.

Copyright (c) Liz Miller
http://www.lizmiller.co.uk


http://www.lizmiller.info/


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Does the Penalty fit the Crime? Raj Persaud and the consequences of the GMC

Doctors can be a jealous, bitter and twisted lot. There is no forgiveness in the profession. It appears that Raj Persaud crime was to be publically successful as a psychiatrist. He was a bit like the nice friendly dentist on the Colgate advertisements. Yes it is true he put his name to material that was not his, but generally Raj's books are well referenced, I know, I borrow the references. He was reported to the GMC for plagiarism, he was found guilty, he apologised and was suspended for three months. He has now resigned his job as a consultant psychiatrist. I am sure Dr Raj Persaud will not starve, nonetheless, the support he has recieved from his profession and colleagues is like the dog that did not bark in the night.

Is copyright really an issue for the GMC? Were any patients harmed in the publication of those articles? Was this for the GMC or his publishers to decide? It would also have been understandable had his academic body had an inquiry, or the publishers had words, apologised and paid appropriate compensation to the offended authors. Neither has happened. Instead the GMC has harassed one more doctor, the consequences of which have been out of all proportion to the offence.

The publically acceptable face of psychiatry has been disfigured. Who will replace him? I have yet to meet a psychiatrist who is both charismatic and enlightened. The nice ones are more Louis Walsh than John Travolta and the charismatic ones are more Hannibal Lecter than John Seargeant . Will people trust psychiatry and psychiatrists more, or less, now that the one psychiatrist who can express himself coherently has been discredited?

I have met Raj Persaud twice. The first time was as an inpatient in the Maudsley Hospital. He was the first and only doctor to treat me like a human being, to look me in the eye and answer my questions. He created enough of an impression that ten years later when he became famous , I instantly recognised him. As for all the other doctors who have "treated" me, with barely one exception, I don't even know their names. Whatever their professional jealousies, the Maudsley could have done better than force him to resign

Only Lord Owen has spoken out in support. The Medical Bloggers have been silent, The literary world admits, in hushed tones only, that perhaps the GMC reaction was a little extreme. His colleagues at the Maudsley chose to throw him to the wolves. Nonetheless, Raj, thanks for you talk yesterday at the Bipolar Organisation and thank you for honouring your commitment at such a difficult time.

Yet again, for evil to succeed it is enough to for good men to do nothing. If the penalty does not fit the crime, justice falls into disrepute. Public disgrace was not enough, Raj Persaud's colleagues also wanted his head on a plate.

Copyright (c) Dr. Liz Miller
http://www.drlizmiller.co.uk/

Late apologies to Ward 87 - glad I am not the only doctor who has noticed this iniquity. To Bowlderise Voltaire "We may not approve of you completely, but we defend to the death your right to be you "