Canadian Military clinics 'dysfunctional'

Canadian Military clinics designed to help soldiers overcome severe psychological problems are themselves dysfunctional and need to be overhauled, says the ombudsman for National Defence in Canada, Andre Marin

Marin launched his investigation into the Halifax facility, which treats victims of post-traumatic stress disorder, shortly after a respected psychiatrist was fired in December 2001.

Dr. Diane McIntosh's 48 patients were suddenly left without care, with no immediate plan to find them another doctor.

And on June 2 this year -- just as the investigation into the McIntosh affair was ending -- clinic psychologist Hans Asche was fired, leaving his 17 patients in the lurch. About 10 of those patients complained to Marin's office.

Meanwhile, a psychiatrist at the Edmonton clinic, Dr. Edel Dromey, was fired in the spring of last year. Another caregiver, psychologist Rhonda Gibson, was also let go. In each case, patients dialed the toll-free complaint line to the ombudsman.

The fired staff all worked for Med-Emerg International Inc., an Ontario firm hired by the military in March 2001 to provide patient services at five such clinics, including facilities in Victoria, Ottawa and Quebec City. The three-year, $92-million contract ends March 31 but can be renewed.

Marin's investigation found that workplace problems existed before Med-Emerg's arrival, but soon worsened.

Report shows high use of psychotropic drugs in Florida foster care kids

Out of 1,180 children reviewed, 652 of them - 55 percent - are on one or more psychotropic drugs, according to a report prepared by the Florida Statewide Advocacy Council. Seventeen of the children were aged 5 or younger, including two 1-year-olds and four 2-year-olds. The report also said that 44 percent of the children on medication had not had a medical evaluation. "These records are cause for alarm because of the age of the children," the report said. "Diagnosing psychiatric illness in children below the age of six is difficult because of the child's inability to accurately and completely describe their feelings."

Louisiana psych investigated for alcohol and drug abuse.

A Louisiana psychiatrist's license has been put on probation for five years because of his history of alcohol and drug abuse, according to the state's medical licensing board. Dr. Stephen Rodney Kirkham's history of drug and alcohol problems prompted the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners to conduct an investigation. According to the agency's five-page report, it found enough evidence to charge him with violating the state Medical Practice Act. He faces far more heavy penalties if breaks the conditions of his no contest plea.

Ethnic Cleansing in Connecticut - The state's role in the Nazi eugenics movement

As seen in the Hartford Advocate

Hitler and his henchmen victimized an entire continent and exterminated millions in his quest for a co-called "Master Race." But the concept of a white, blond-haired, blue-eyed master Nordic race was not Hitler's. The idea was created in the United States, and cultivated in Connecticut, two to three decades before Hitler came to power, the product of the American eugenics movement. Hartford and indeed the state of Connecticut played an important albeit unknown role in this country's campaign of ethnic cleansing. What's more, Connecticut was an important player in America's eugenic nexus with Nazi Germany. [...]

Eugenics would have been so much bizarre parlor talk had it not been for massive financing by corporate philanthropies, specifically the Carnegie Institution, the Rockefeller Foundation and the Harriman railroad fortune. They were all in league with America's most respected scientists hailing from such prestigious universities as Yale, Harvard, and Princeton. These academicians faked and twisted data to serve eugenics' racist aims. Connecticut was considered both an epicenter for eugenic propaganda and a test case for ethnic cleansing. [...]

By 1926, Rockefeller had donated some $410,000 -- almost $4 million in 20th century money -- to hundreds of German researchers. For example, in May of 1926, Rockefeller awarded $250,000 to the German Psychiatric Institute of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute to become the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Psychiatry. Among the leading psychiatrists at the German Psychiatric Institute was Ernst Rüdin, who became director and eventually an architect of Hitler's systematic medical repression.

Another in the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute's eugenic complex of institutions was the Institute for Brain Research. Since 1915, it had operated out of a room. Everything changed when Rockefeller money arrived in 1929. A grant of $317,000 allowed the Institute to construct a major building and take center stage in German race biology. The Institute for Brain Research received additional grants from the Rockefeller Foundation during the next several years. Leading the Institute, once again, was Hitler's medical henchman Ernst Rüdin. Rüdin's organization became a prime director and recipient of the murderous experimentation and research conducted on Jews, Gypsies and others.

Beginning in 1940, thousands of Germans taken from old age homes, mental institutions and other custodial facilities were systematically gassed. Between 50,000 and 100,000 were eventually killed.

Leon Whitney, executive secretary of the American Eugenics Society declared of Nazism, "While we were pussy-footing around ... the Germans were calling a spade a spade."

Just in case you were not aware of the roots of modern Psychiatry

Too many Psychs, not enough real Scientists

The world is in danger of running out of scientists because too many young people are opting to study "easier" subjects in school and university, this according to a speech at the British Association Science Festival. This year there was yet another fall in the number of students taking physics, chemistry and biology at A-level. The number of maths students rose, but only after recent years of decline.

Last month head teachers said that the rising pass rate of A-levels was being fuelled by pupils switching from maths and science to supposedly easier subjects such as psychology and media studies. "We are not alone in facing these trends," said Sir Peter, the former chief executive of Oxford Instruments.

Irish Psychiatric Patients on the decline

The number of patients in Ireland’s psychiatric hospitals fell by 15% last year, according to the Inspector of Mental Hospitals’ latest annual report. See their press release here. You can download the 300 plus page report here

Overland Park medical center to close psychiatric unit

The Overland Park Regional Medical Center in Kansas is closing its adult inpatient psychiatric unit to make room for renovation and expansion of its women's center, a hospital spokeswoman said Monday. The 24-bed psychiatric unit will stop accepting new patients Friday, said spokeswoman Gene Hallinan. She said current patients will remain until they are discharged by their physicians or until they are relocated to another facility.

Drug Counselor gets 5 years for selling cocaine

Eugene Moses, a former drug dealer-turned-drug counselor of Olney, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced to more than five years in prison by a federal judge. He was arrested in December after he made arrangements to sell 41/2 ounces of cocaine for $3,600 to a person who was secretly working with an officer on the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's regional task force. Moses pleaded guilty in May, without a deal with prosecutors, to charges of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, distribution of drugs within 1,000 feet of a college or university, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Former Psychiatrist wins parole to halfway house.

A former psychiatrist convicted of beating a female colleague with a crowbar is to be paroled from prison Monday and released to a halfway house. James A. Taylor was convicted of beating Martha Turnberg, 54, with a clawed crowbar on Oct. 21, 1996 as she left her psychiatry practice. Turnberg suffered head and face cuts requiring nearly 200 stitches. He was sentenced to 6 to 13 years in prison. Taylor was once a well-known and respected psychiatrist in the North Eastern Pennsylvania area.

Psychiatrists investigated for failing to report child sex abuse

Prosecutors are investigating whether psychiatrists at Massachusetts General Hospital violated state law by failing to report sexual abuse by priests in the 1990s, the Boston Herald has learned. The probe focuses on whether a panel of MGH psychiatrists called the Priest Treaters Group, which met to discuss at least 17 clergy abusers from 1994 to 1997, ignored the state's mandated reporting statute. That law requires certain parties -- including physicians -- to report all suspicions of child abuse to law enforcement authorities.

"It is my hope their acts will be prosecutable," said Susan Gallagher of Medford, a victims' advocate with the Coalition of Catholics and Survivors who provided information that launched the Suffolk investigation. "But even if they aren't judged criminal, they should be exposed to the public."

Gallagher said she provided Assistant Suffolk District Attorney David N. Deakin, who runs his office's sex crimes unit, with deposition transcripts from a key MGH doctor and other data she said support a case against the psychiatrists. "He was very interested and he is investigating," she said.

A law enforcement source has confirmed the investigation.

Looking for millions in public money to keep psych hospital open

Pima County [Arizona] Administrator Chuck Huckelberry will ask the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday to approve up to $3.2 million in contracts for professional help at Kino Community Hospital where a psychiatric patient died in July while being restrained.

Huckelberry wants the board to approve a $1.7 million contract with Horizon Mental Health Management, a Texas-based company, to run Kino's psychiatric unit. He also asked for $750,000 to hire four private firms to supply "travel" nurses from out of the community to staff the psychiatric unit, and $826,000 for Oakland, Calif.-based Health Care Financial Solutions to help hospital officials prepare correction plans to satisfy state and federal health-care regulators that patients can safely be treated at Kino.

The July 15 death of Wendy Gazda, 32, sent state health inspectors to Kino a few days later. They found numerous deficiencies in policies and procedures, enough to threaten the hospital's status with the Center for Medicare Services in San Francisco and the reimbursements for Medicare patients, without which Kino cannot survive financially.

The Pima County Medical Examiner's Office ruled Gazda's death a homicide last week, saying she died as a result of being restrained. The Arizona Attorney General's Office is deciding whether to file criminal charges against any of the hospital mental health workers or private security guards involved.

Looks like it is in line to join the many other psych hospitals that have closed, all due to abuse of patients and public funds.

School Psychiatrist suspended for display of male genitalia

Gateway School District psychologist Dan Pezzulo has been suspended for displaying a photo of male genitalia during a staff meeting presentation. Stephanie Hogue, mother of seven and president of the Moss Side Middle School Family-Teacher Association, said teachers and parents who talked to her about the incident were appalled.

He has said that "I'll let my performance evaluations and my character speak for me"

In an ironic twist, Pezzulo also hosts a segment on the local cable television channel called "Tips From Dr. Dan." The segments feature messages to youths. In one segment, Pezzulo used street signs to emphasize making smart choices. The "stop sign" urged students to stop and think before making decisions that could impact the rest of their lives.

Outrage at sentence of child rapist

A Scottish law chief has demanded a report into why a man who raped a 13-month-old baby was given a five-year jail sentence.

Lord Advocate Colin Boyd QC has said the sentence for the shocking crime is "unduly lenient".

Father-of-three James Taylor, 43, took pictures of himself raping the baby girl. He was caught after posting child pornography on the internet and when police raided his house they found 2,280 indecent images of children on his computer, CDs and floppy disks. He was sentenced at the High Court in Dunfermline after admitting raping the baby girl, indecency towards a six-year-old girl and possessing indecent images of children.

Children's charities are outraged at the sentence, given after a psychologist's report saying Talyor is at low risk of reoffending.

Shutting down Taunton State Hospital

The Massachusetts Department of Mental Health is shutting down Taunton State Hospital, hoping to save $2.2 million a year. The unit's population already has been reduced to just four men, this according to Lester Blumberg, chief of staff at the mental health department

The unit was created in response to a court order 13 years ago after five severely retarded men died at Bridgewater State Hospital where attorneys found patients isolated for as much as 23 hours a day, sometimes naked, psychotic, and despairing.

See also this Boston Channel 5 report.

New allegations of sexual assault at Oaks Psychiatric Hospital

Former patients at the Oaks Psychiatric Hospital in South Austin in Texas are now filling lawsuits against the facility for troubled teens. Two former employees were accused of sexual assault last year, and now allegations of sexual assault at the Oaks Psychiatric Hospital are pending.

"This was obviously a horrible tragic event for these girls and this appears not to have been an isolated event," victim's attorney John Thomas said. Attorney John Thomas says three girls were assaulted in March of 2002 by then 19-year-old Edward Johnson, an employee in charge of the girls showers and dorms.

See Video of TV Report at this link (real audio format)

Psych Professor resigns University position in child porn case fallout

John Caruso, 35, a University of Montana psychology professor, has submitted his letter of resignation to the University last week following the outrage that came with his arrest for child pornography. According to Deputy County Attorney Kirsten LaCroix, investigators are determining whether any of the pornography found on Caruso’s computer hard drive and zip disks involve children from his neighborhood. As seen in the story:

On May 29, Caruso found his apartment burglarized and reported missing a black Dell laptop computer, film, a small amount of money and eight Sony PlayStation games, according to the court affidavit.

Later, in an unrelated incident on June 5, authorities responded to a disturbance call in Caruso’s neighborhood from two parents complaining about their children’s activities. While questioning one of the children, a 14 year-old girl, officials made reference to Caruso’s stolen laptop. The girl admitted to burglarizing Caruso’s apartment with the help of her 13-year-old brother, according to the affidavit.

The children told officials that after accessing Caruso’s computer files, they saw pictures of him engaging in oral sex with a girl who resembled a 7-year old girl who lived in the neighborhood.

The department has hired a replacement professor for the year. Caruso’s arraignment is scheduled for Sept. 9. He has been described as an excellent psychiatrist.

Psychiatrist led teen to falsely believe she had be molested by her father as a child.

John Eastgate, a British child psychiatrist has been accused of serious professional misconduct for leading a teenager into believing she had been sexually abused as a child. He was also alleged to have contacted police and social services about the abuse without properly investigating whether the charges could possibly be true. His actions acted as a "seed" to a number of further allegations against three other men, including the girl's father, which "pulled the family asunder for years".

If found guilty by the General Medical Council's professional conduct committee Mr Eastgate could be struck off or suspended from the medical register.

I should hope so, at least that.

Sick on the Inside

The full text of Wil S. Hylton's exposure of the medical conditions in United States prisons has been put on the web by the Wrongful Death Institute with the author's permission. It was published in Harper's August 2003 issue but not online.

Powerful stuff. A condemnation of a system that is often times more like something out of the middle ages that what youy imagine for the 21st century.

times must change

Changing the rules on Malpractice.

The Florida Medical Association decided Saturday it will try to change the state's constitution to ensure medical malpractice victims receive a larger share of court settlements they win. Under the proposed amendment, patients would receive 70 percent of the first $250,000 awarded and 90 percent of the rest of the award. Trial lawyers currently receive between 30-40 percent of malpractice awards.

Naturally, the lawyers are against this, and claim that the proposed admendment to the state constitution would make it impossible to try medical malpractice cases.

Naturally, in the case of psychiatric malpractice, I would be in favor the victims being able to get as much compensation as possible.

External management of Kino Psych Unit

Horizon Mental Health Management is being considered to take over day-to-day operations of the psychiatric unit at Kino Community Hospital in order to deal with myriad problems since the July 15 death of Wendy Gazda.

Wendy Gazda died while being restrained by hospital mental-health technicians and security guards for a private company.

No charges have been filed against the employees.