McAree
The complaint is that Dr McAree (in the presence of a nurse) carried out a campaign of coercion, harassment and humiliation to make me submit to her agenda of accepting the prescription of anti psychotic medication (Olanzapine) when I had no symptoms that would have benefited from it. I had already been offered Valium for anxiety and the letter I sent her contained the words 'We had established that you believe I am suffering from anxiety'. Olanzapine is not indicated for anxiety. It's off label.
When I complained to Dr McAree's management, I received a letter of reply confirming they were treating me for anxiety . Part of the letter (the end) claimed ' Olanzapine, which can be appropriately prescribed for anxiety'.
I told her repeatedly that I wasn't going to take Olanzapine She arrogantly swept aside my wishes and rights and continued to harass me. I invited her to continue the abuse by letter and she accepted it. My letter and her reply form the basis of this complaint.
Further she made decisions that were against my interests, not from professional incompetence, but purely to further the agenda laid out in her letter. To become a customer of the IHTT monitored by a nurse in conjunction with a GP, Dr Karen Pope who is a personal friend of hers.
From the letter.
"I am glad that you are seeing Dr Pope regularly and trust her ".
A few days later I was formally discharged with no diagnosis and no comment on the state of my mental health. A few days after that I discharged myself from Dr McAllister in a phone call to nurse Dianne Jeffries. I said 'I'd no more allow myself to be treated by the IHTT than I'd allow drunk chimpanzees to fix the brakes on my car' I'm not proud of that but it was simply to indicate I was not open to further persuasion.
I could have faced years of the very unpleasant side effects of the drug she wanted to prescribe, Olanzapine described in the leaflet and letter she gave me. That would include sleepiness, major weight gain, heart problems, constipation, low blood pressure, dizziness etc. I was 58 years old. The last thing I needed was a collection of long term ailments. Unbelievably, the main side effect of Olanzapine is sleepiness, exhaustion was the main symptom I originally presented to the GP (Dr McColl) with. I confirmed that with him . This is medical negligence at the very least.
The reason I attended the Charleston Centre when I had no symptoms was because I asked my GP, Dr McColl if I could see a psychiatrist in the hope that it might provide a clue to the occasional severe exhaustion problem which has plagued me. My medical records clearly say that 'p/t requested to see psychiatrist' .
At one point I was exhausted but couldn't sleep which is upsetting. I was also distressed and fearful of an upcoming DWP interview. That was 7/8 weeks earlier and the symptoms had now gone because the main cause of the stress had gone. That was noted by nurse Diane Jeffries on the second interview with her. I attended the Charleston Centre purely because I wanted to discuss the exhaustion issue.
In the interim, the DWP assessment interview at ATOS with a highly, intelligent, capable, civilised and mentally sharp assessor, a doctor who told me she had worked in psychology and psychiatry. She was everything Dr McAree wasn't. Compared with the DWP assessor Dr McAree was a nasty, toxic woman with a severely limited vocabulary.
Probably
the worst behaved human being I have ever met and I worked for years
in Ferguslie Park, Scotland's most deprived sink estate. The reason of
course is arrogance, a low grade individual with a medical degree is a
dangerous combination.
I also had
first class service at Specsavers .
There was a huge difference in quality between the Specsavers
staff and the IHTT.
The following happened at the Charleston Centre,
Paisley. I wrote this down within an hour of the events. Friday 13th September
Dr McAree and a nurse.
When I first arrived at Charleston Centre, I had a very nice conversation
with the very happy and charming receptionist, Caroline as I had on the
previous days. I
have always found the staff to be really friendly. At this point I was
happy, relaxed and cheerful with no mental health symptoms that required
treatment.
From the beginning, pressure was put on me by to take anti psychotic medication. I told her repeatedly I didn't want to take it and I wasn't going to. She and the nurse told me it could be used in conjunction with relaxation. I was simply not going to be pressurised by anyone. They asked if I wanted them to visit me at home or to phone me over the weekend. I told them in forceful terms I didn't want them to. I said 'do not, under any circumstances come anywhere near my house or phone me there'. They were putting really serious pressure on me.
She then started this mantra ' Do you think you're attractive to women ?' over and over and over.. This same question had been put to me on two previous days, so she had been told (ordered) to say that. This was orchestrated and premeditated abuse.
My selfie (deliberately) taken the same day with a really poor webcam.
Dr McAree is the 'lady' with the red hair.
Next they tried mental humiliation. She said that Dr McAllister was worried about my interest in Morrissey. In a sneering tone she said 'what is your interest in Morrissey'. I was pretty offended by that and wearily replied that I wasn't an acolyte of Morrissey. She had literally no idea what the word meant, neither did the nurse. She didn't know what Tai Chi was either. I think I was offended most that I would care what McAllister thought.
So, given the previous experience, why would I write a letter ? It was a very deliberate entrapment to allow me to make a complaint. I calculated that with her arrogance and apparent determination to force me to take drugs, given enough rope she would hang herself, which she duly did. The questions were deliberately chosen to elicit detail that would likely not be forthcoming. Specifically that there was no medical reason for it. I asked for a diagnosis and none was forthcoming 'you appear to have some problem with your mood' is not a valid reason for prescribing a dangerous drug with horrible side effects.
This is a tactic previously used by my medical family to make a successful complaint to the GMC about an alcoholic GP whose refusal to make a home visit resulted in my sister in law having a miscarriage. My other brother was a university professor and chief consultant bacteriologist who asked him questions he couldn't answer. At the end of the process he was no longer practicing medicine. He had done something similar before and the fact his alcoholism was widely known gave the GMC no choice. That is all as I can remember from forty odd years ago.
Dr McAree (as I suspected from her limited intelligence and vocabulary) was unable to engage at a professional level. That's why I sent her the letter. The questions were very closely based on the Mind charity guideline questions that one should ask before taking medication.
In my opinion, the letters establishes the abuse. Her reply was
deceitful, contemptuous, inept and intimidating.
This what I wrote
.
We had established that you believe I am suffering from anxiety and that
low doses of an anti psychotic drug would be beneficial. I expressed the
opinion that I wanted to do relaxation class or other stress management
regime as I had before and didn't believe I required medication. I repeated
that a number of times.
I reminded her that I had refused to take her medication a number of times. Any honest physician would have stopped or at the very least addressed that, but she continued and even maliciously suggested I might end up in hospital.
This is what the charity Mind has to say about choice
'Could I ever be forced to take medication?
In most cases: no. If you're offered medication, you usually have the right to refuse it and to ask for an alternative treatment'.
Please note that I wrote 'you believe I am suffering from anxiety'. I didn't have any anxiety** when I walked in the door. I was giving her her the opportunity to deny that she had been abusing me by her repeated demands to prescribe medication. She didn't take it. To me, that is a tacit admission of guilt. Any genuine physician would have been defended themselves if it wasn't true and backed off. Although I had no anxiety at that time, I might have been interested in relaxation classes in the long term.
I then asked her for
The condition you believe you believe I have, the observed symptoms and
the severity
Her reply
I believe that you have suffered with some difficulties to do with your
mood. I thought that a medication such as Olanzapine could help you with
this and also would decrease the amount of stress that you appear to be
experiencing at the present time.
I posed deliberately precise questions to reveal that she had no medical reason for prescribing that drug. She doesn't say what condition this is meant to treat or its severity which is what I very deliberately asked for. 'Some difficulties to do with your mood' is not a medical condition, it's barely English, and 'I believe' is hardly an 'evidence based diagnosis'. She obviously didn't care, she's only interested in getting me to take drugs and be her 'customer'. This is abusive and corrupt practice.
She continued
I believe it would allow you to think in a clearer manner and that it could be used in conjunction with other approaches such as relaxation classes or other ways of stress management as you had outlined were your preferred options.
What on earth does she mean by 'think in a clearer manner' ? Is she implying that my thinking was disordered, in a psychotic sense ? One way of looking at this is that she has no idea what she's doing and simply read this off a fact sheet and presented it to me. If I was her manager, I would like to test her knowledge. I (immodestly) contend that my thinking in the letter was somewhat more articulate and lucid than hers.
According to an email from the UK licensing authority, it isn't licensed for anxiety, it's 'off label'. It can only be prescribed in extreme circumstance and the doctor must take full responsibility for his / her actions. The only exceptional circumstance is that I had no anxiety at that time. They told me that if I was unhappy to complain to the GMC which I did.
The major side effect of Olanzapine is sleepiness, similar symptoms to
that I
presented my GP with. That looks very much like negligence.
This is from the (attached) NHS sheet of side effects given to me by Dr
McAree,
VERY COMMON (more than about 1 in 10 people ) - Sleepiness. Feeling sleepy or sluggish. It can last for a few hours after taking your dose. Don't drive or use machinery.
Weight gain is also a major issue and at 58, I wouldn't wish that on my
worst enemy having lost weight through diet and exercise before.
I then asked
What, in your judgment would be the consequences of not taking the
medication ?
Her reply was “I
am concerned that if you do not remain involved with people who are
trying to help you with your current difficulties that the situation might
rapidly worsen and that you might require
admission to hospital. Of course I have no way of definitely knowing this
would happen but, in my experience,
it is a possible scenario.”
I was expecting to know about the precise medical consequences. She doesn't say anything about that. She obviously had no idea what condition I had originally presented with. However she reinforced the offer with the tabloid level shock warning that I could relapse and end up in hospital. Relapse to what ? I have never been in hospital for any condition never mind a psychiatric one. I have never had a mental health diagnosis.
That was a very deliberate attempt to scare me and make my condition worse in order to submit to her agenda which is scandalous. It's clear she had no idea of the condition I presented with and just decided go do with the standard psychiatric solution, anti-psychotics. Trying to force a 58 year old with no mental health history into taking a horrible (and horribly unpopular with patients) drug is pretty heinous behaviour. The letter is nasty and intimidating. It reads like it came from a particularly unpleasant and stupid primary school bully.
She obviously knew nothing about me, was too lazy to find out and concocted the letter in a standard patient intimidating fashion. About three weeks after that apocalyptic prophecy, I was acting in front of a large crowd of people at the Renfrewshire Witch Hunt 1697 play in Paisley town centre. It's hard to imagine a greater contrast. I was the seventeenth century executioner wearing with the Casio digital watch (oops).
I don't know anything about the mental health system. This was obviously some kind of compliance technique. No doubt mental health patients can be difficult. However I cannot conceive of any valid reason for a doctor to behave as despicably as that or any code of professional conduct that would determine this behaviour fell within acceptable limits. Dr McAree is the most obnoxious, pernicious and thuggish human being I have ever met. I'm sure the behaviour was entirely deliberate and contrived and in no way personal toward me.
She tried to insinuate herself into my house. Three junkies had helped me up when I twisted my ankle a few days before. I would rather have those junkies in my house. I'd rather live next door to them. They are hugely superior human beings and I got more sense out of them than I would ever expect to get out of Dr McAree. I walked into town, thanked them and had a conversation with them. I can't imagine having an adult conversation with Dr McAree about anything.
When I discharged myself I told Nurse Jeffries that I would no more allow myself to be treated by Dr McAree and her chum Dr Pope than I would allow drunk chimpanzees to fix the brakes on my car. The chimps would be better looking, more intelligent and have hugely better manners.
I 'met' a mental heath campaigner online who told me that Dr McAree had been contemptuous and obnoxious to her. That played a large part in my decision to complain to the GMC.
Thanks for reading Sorry for the length.
* * When I complained to Dr McAree's management, I received a letter of reply confirming they were treating me for anxiety . Part of the letter (the end) claimed ' Olanzapine, which can be appropriately prescribed for anxiety'.