A woman, finally, gets some justice for the injustice done to her whilst in care

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/breaking-news/uk-ireland/church-pays-woman-drugged-at-home-14868828.html

The Church of England has paid "substantial" damages to a woman who claimed she was heavily sedated during her time at a children's home, it has been disclosed.
Teresa Cooper, 43, accepted the out-of-court settlement from church authorities after alleging that she was abused and restrained with doses of tranquillisers and other drugs.

A BBC investigation last year revealed that some girls who were heavily sedated while living at Church of England-run Kendall House in Gravesend, Kent, in the 1970s and 1980s went on to have children with a range of birth defects.

According to files from Kendall House, which is no longer a children's home, girls were given massive doses of a number of drugs over long periods of time.

Former resident Ms Cooper's three children all have birth defects and she has fought an 18-year campaign to secure justice, she said. Her eldest son was born with respiratory difficulties, her second son was born blind and developed learning difficulties, and her daughter was born with a cleft palate and a short lower jaw.
Ms Cooper, who left the home in 1984 at 16, was given medication at least 1,248 times over a 32-month period. This included three major tranquillisers, drugs to counter side-effects and anti-depressants, including up to 10 times the current recommended dose of Valium.

The Diocese of Rochester said it has not admitted liability but said it hopes Ms Cooper would now be able to move on with her life. In a statement, it said: "Although Ms Cooper instructed a legal firm, no legal proceedings were issued. In reaching a settlement, no admissions of liability were made. It is our fervent hope that the terms of the settlement agreed will assist Teresa Cooper move forward with her life."

Ms Cooper, a writer who lives near Chelmsford, Essex, said she would like a public apology from the church. She said: "The settlement is a step in the right direction. The church has worked with me on an equal level, which took a long time to achieve and I'm quite happy with what they have done. But I would like them to investigate what happened, what went wrong and to investigate the drugs that were used that saw girls go on to have children with birth defects.

"There are lots of things the church can do and which I believe is their Christian duty to do, and I would also like a public apology at the Synod. Hopefully, we will now get justice for the other girls."

A statement through her solicitors, Lavelle Coleman, said: "In a recent settlement, Teresa Cooper has received substantial High Court damages and has concluded her years of effort to secure justice in her case. Represented by Lavelle Coleman solicitors and Elizabeth Anne Grumble QC, Teresa was finally vindicated and her pain and suffering were properly acknowledged."

Respite-ary unblockage...in spite of bare faced lying and skullthuggery of all sorts

How long it is since 'Steppingstones' rehabiliation and respite care centre was closed...I cannot remember....but would guess around 5 years.

So it has been a 5 year battle...with much bullshitting from the powers that be along the way....to get to the point I got to on Wednesday. That point being, I finally got some respite care. Yep, get the balloons, party poppers and banners out. Houston, we have lift off!!!!

Well, I had lift off :>)

I think the several letters from MP, literally starting from the words "Public Consultation" (which turned out to be a staged one off event in central Bedfordshire... only MH Trust managers and a couple of members of the service user representative group attended - no other invites sent out) might have helped along the way. Those letters and the threat, more than any action taken by a lawyer and mostly a pro-active care co-ordinator who had to find out about the centre in Luton, with minimul support from managment (a certain member of said management insisting there was no such thing as respite care in Bedfordshire and rather grudgingly saying that if the care co-ordinator believed I needed respite to go and find it). Thankfully she did, not long before finding herself another job and I don't blame her. With bosses like that, who needs enemies!!!!!!

Anyway, it may have taken a long time but progress has been made and overall it was what I needed.

The centre itself is modern and not in a clinical, clinking clanking of keys, people ushered to meds, ushered to OT, ushered to meals and then ushered to bed, way. It, has rightly won awards for excellence because it represents valuing patients in a way I have rarely seen in anything provided by MH Trusts before.

It has 3 floors. The bottom one is what I would call The Everyday Floor. Staff Room, Kitchen, TV Lounge, side rooms for visitors and meetings and a couple of bedrooms. I was in one of them. The other 2 floors are for men and women, respectively (so that, I assume the needs of women can be catered for specifically as with the men..I assume, I don't know and didn't ask).

The highlight of my stay has to be the garden. A place in which I spent the biggest part of my waking day. As I wrote to a friend, most of the other part of it spent at 'puffing billy' (no sexual activity took place)....just outside the centre walls. I find it ironic (then I would as a smoker) that in amongst all this anti stigma bollocks that goes on...you have a line of people forced to smoke on the pavement outside an NHS building (which has no name because it doesn't want to bring attention to 'psychiatric references').

I think the song does go "The saddest sight I ever saw was people smoking outside the hospital wall". I am not being pro or anti smoking here. I abstain because I am biased by addiction but there has to be a better way of acknowledging patient needs without them having to pace about outside on a busy road, looking really conspicious. Perhaps the NHS policy is to shame patients into quitting the habit. Believe me it doesn't work!!!! Just give us bells and we can walk around bawling out "unclean" at the top of or voices!!!!

That is my biggest gripe and I know I will always be outnumbered on that one. Mid winter, snow falling,extremeties frozen, I will be out there puffing away.

Back to that glorious garden. Massive it is. Lots of different trees, flowers and plants and wonderful aromas. Slap bank in the middle, most encased in lavendar, is the pond. I spent a fair bit of time playing spot the fish. Was informed there are some but never got to seen them. Can think of worst ways of wasting my time.

I did plenty of reading (something I have struggled with lately) and my cans were rarely off my ears.

There was a bit of a mix up over an OT trip out bowling. I had (whilst taking notes of patient meeting) put my name forward along with 3 others to do this activity. When the time came, the OT person didn't turn up. So I went back to the garden and it was only when I went out for a ciggy, I clocked their car full of other patients. I assumed, based on her blank look when I asked if I could still attend, that people in respite are not allowed to go. Later I spoke with the Staff Nurse because I needed to know what the policy was. The policy is anyone can go but it is a first come, first served basis. Hmmmm.....Not sure if the OT lady had an issue with me (she is also the smoking cessation champion!!!) or just my paranoia but the communication went totally tits up and it left me feeling completely isolated, dejected and paranoid.

After ringing my mate, decided not to just up and leave and their advise was to talk to the OT personage and let them know how it made me feel. I didn't get that opportunity...so decided to leave it be because I do need to use respite care (sure that time will be pre or post Christmas) and should the same thing happen next time, I will challenge them directly and see what the problem with me, if there is one, is.

The other patients were friendly, in their unique ways and I became fond of one person. I will call her 'Rani' (which is not her name) and in spite of the many difficulties she has, came with me to the local shop and said if I forget where it is, she would take me there again. We had brief but warm chats during my stay and when I was waiting for the taxi to bring me home, today, she came out, gave me a warm hug and wished me well. I hugged her back and said I wished her the same and that if she was still there, next time, I look forward to seeing her.
I nearly cried.

The most basic kindnesses get me like that. There are so few of them around these days. It's all top show, no underwear city....and fekk all feelings to show for it.


Time was too short to really bond that much....and I felt a bit like I needed to keep some space...so that people didn't get too attached to me..or vice versa and then having to leave and me dealing with that. It was only respite and, anyway, I know that I can be over-bearing so kept myself low key.

Staff were pretty helpful too. I did struggle around my medication. That was my issue rather than theirs as I don't have a set time for taking them and had to ask..and often I got paranoid and then would get to freaky point before asking. Lesson learnt..particularly as staff nurses made it clear that as long as I stuck within my allowance, when I took my meds was down to me.

My relationship with them grew from minor distrust (because of prior experience of most things MH Trust wise) to respect. I knew the lead STR worker from stay in the old style pyschiatric unit, before acute care become too much like a mini prison style pressure cooker environment and the staff nurses were really good. I felt I was dealing human to human, rather than playing the boss/servant game.

So South Essex Partnership etc etc etc Trust. You do have something that, mostly, works really well and like I say, I am the first the lambaste when all is not well but credit where it is due and I give the respite care place 8/10. If the OT had gone smoothly it would have been a 9....the other 1 point is out of the centre's control because you can't change national policy!!!

Now it is time for me to collapse in heap as my dry disks are playing up....time to sedate myself. It will still hurt but I won't care so much.

The futility of voting for change

As I am sure many others are, I am deeply concerned about the goings on of this Tory/Lib Allegiance Government.

Previously, I have waxed positive about my local MP (Tory) who did, a fair bit of the time, fight my corner as I tried to get local MH services to do their jobs properly, fairly and consistently. However, a local MP dealing with their constituents is very different to a steamroller approach to stuffing the poor and vulnerable.

I have lost faith (totally) in the political system, which I should have realised only serves a certain section of society. I detest above all the Liberal Democrats for selling themselves out (apart from the referendum next May on Proportional Representation...which seems to be the only thing they now care about viz a vie their morals) and becoming whores to their power lust. Hope they enjoy the time they have sharing power (make that being subserviant to the Tories). I doubt they will be respected come the next general election..whenever the fekk that will be because the Tories wanna close the system down to a point where they run the show...indefinately.

The only political action I will be taking, in regards to the shite hole this system is, will be to go along to future balloting stations and write "It all stinks to high heaven" on my voting paper.

Fekk em all because they sure as hell are going to fekk me over!!!!!

So much for the Glory Days

Thank heavens for Whistleblowers, I say

Daily Mail Article -
Whistle blown on South Essex Mental Health Partnership Trust

Beds Mental Health Trust goes SEPT-ic

Yep....it's merging and blurring and all round a bit of a cock up.

Oh Beacon of the South East hasn't turned out quite to be the shining light that everyone assumed.

I heard, via the grapevine, that an amount of money that was 'supposed' to be allocated for carers was used to cover financial probbies elsewhere and when South East Essex Partnership Trust were asked where it had gone, they replied "Well, nobody told us it was ringfenced".

Dr Geohegan...that self proclaimed bearer of the silver slipper in this Cinderella service land, seems to have been missing in non action for the past year he was 'caretaker' managing..Literally nobody could communicate with him and he refused to communicate with anyone else (including my MP).and not much has been heard of him since he officially took to the helm of a very much run down Bedfordshire and Luton MH Service.

In fact, the only thing anyone has noticed since he started is that jobs are not being re-advertised, caseloads are doubling (likely to treble now) and quality staff (such as my most recent care co-ordinator) are leaving Community Mental Health Teams pretty sharpish...needless to say the dead wood is being left to float around in the mire with no one having the balls to either breathe some life back into them or pile em up and ship em off.....apart from some of the more angry and vocal patients. Others are doing the usual talking on corners and the talk is not of a renewed faith in a kind of seconded management team overseeing their care service more a depressed acceptance that it can get even crappier than it is. When you are having your care services delivered by one of, if not, the worst MH Trust in the country there isn't much to be optimistic about.

I understand (altough don't have the full details) that SEPT is once again being called to task about some other misdemeanors in the core (Essex) part of it's service. That is the one with Beacon Status.. the Trust that everyone in the Eastern Region bows down to before it's glory or gets their eyes burnt by the glare.

I have to say I am not surprised my care co-ordinator is leaving. She was one of the bright young things, intelligent and eager and run ragged...doing the job of 2 (maybe more) people.

Finally, between her, my MP and lawyer (although the latter seems to have sauntered through the gate after the horses had bolted) my direct payment has been paid into my account. That was last week. I remember the frantic day my care co-ordinator turned up and insisted I opened a new bank account that day, because the panel had agreed it and she had been informed I must have an account for the impmending payments to be paid into. That was the week before Christmas.

It does..and that is mostly due to correspondence between my myself MP (a rather vacant MH Director who wrote an Action Plan that seemed to be for someone else). In this plan the Director, who had informed me in November that it was looking positive in regards to the Direct Payment Application. In the plan he made a key point of stating there was an option of going for a Direct Payment to support my needs viz a vie my care plan. Did he take an amnesia pill at some point.

Actually, the commitments he made in regards to Dad's CMHT input into his care have amounted to fekk all. Dad hasn't seen anyone from that team for a couple of months.

All this is bureaupap is now with the lawyer. I am sick of dealing with complete cretins who obvisously are better at writing Action Plans (incorrect as the information within them may be)..than keeping staff informed of and ensuring they adhere to what they should be doing.

If I were to give Dr Geohegan one piece of advice, it would be to find out what his Directors are up to..and if they are up to directing. After that, I would say that I think he bit off way more than he could chew. He is most probably relieved that the Tories got in, with their agenda to slash public services...it now gives him an excuse to carry on what he has been doing (pretty much unchecked) for the last year.

I wonder if Mr Cameran is planning to look at the management styles and salaries of those in top tier positions within MH Trusts and to equate that with what is actually being delivered to patients. Not that anyone will give a stuff.

People are going to be so stressed and hard pressed. Dog will eat dog, anything smaller, less cunning, injured...The time for the survival of the fittest is nigh.

Hark..I hear the bell tolling! Nope it's just the pinger on me microwave oven, telling me the pizza baguette is ready.

How do you create work in a country whose production industries are dying or long gone?

Is it only me who is not so quiety panicking about the debt this country is in?

Perhaps the new government has, by coming out with guns blazing, got me to talking about things I have been thinking about for ages. I did used to write about them but nobody seemed that concerned..or other concerns were more important to them. No crime but the 'ostrich' years are over.

In some ways I respect the new government for 'SAYING' it is going to be responsible and for seeming to take, at the moment, action to resolve the debt problem with it's first emergency budget due and already attempting to clear £6 billion of the debt but that is just a piddle in a massive ocean and where is the other £144 billion to be found from?

The notion of that kind of money is beyond me...particularly as I have always thought the money market is based on little substance and actually alot of notional money seems to have been moving around (heaven knows where or why). Actually, to me it is all notional rather than substancial. It certainly doesn't seem to bare any significance to anyone's life until there comes a point where debt has to be paid back...because who are 'the national we' to be paying it back to?

And then...it all gets very scary indeed because, you have to look at the hows and that means the country's capacity to do so.

Will a massive cut in public spending clear that amount of debt? I don't think it will in itself. If I put the argument about how necessary public services are to one side (because surely everyone believes there should be a public sector of some kind or other) and look at the money...I don't believe that level of debt will be cleared....and the bigger issue is ..how are we to sustain when alot of our production industries are in decline, or gone?

I was actually contemplating this notion of a 'big society' and wondering if I could sustain within work because in spite of my scepticism, I would like to be part of a society that does care, does work together and is 'better'. However, on a personal basis, I know that I would not cope nor would employers and other employees cope with me or for those who believe that illness is not all that a person is....how 'we' would cope with with my illness because, as yet, I am unable to be 'consistent' or maintain a level of coping that would fit with conventional work environments. Could start to talk about flexible work....working from home etc but as a society we haven't come that far yet. Maybe we will get there but before we get there we need to have work opportunities and lots of them...and unless I am completely oblivious to what is actually happening the work isn't there and companies are still closing down on a daily basis.

I don't see the growth of new industries...and not on a scale to replace the old and I am not sure quite what a'Big Society' means in realilty. Is it something like modern China? Because how can we compete with that? Do we want to be like that?

I am not clever enough to comprehend all this in a way that doesn't confuse me or stop me getting headaches but I do have to wonder at consistent governments who have allowed the financial sector to be so greedy...possibly encouraged it..who knows?????

Maybe the financiers pull the strings? Hmmm. Nosebleed stuff

A slightly (actually not sure how slight) bisexual's ponderings on gay and lesbian celebrity...and possible equality issues

Before I head off into territory that is going to darken my name further, amongst the PC police and their snitches, I can say that it is for reasons of curiosity that I am posting this post.

The first thing I want to look at is the growing fashion statement, amongst gay presenters, that is the 'orange fake tan' . I thought David Dickinson had the monopoly on this one. Disclaimer coming... if Mr Dickinson is gay then not openly so...and assume that he is a happily married man...assume because you never really know what goes on anywhere except in your own life and even then I am not sure that anyone can ever be 100% about anything..."We fade to grey"

Anyhows....the first presenter I clocked going for the full on orange effect was Dale Winton. Not sure if Graham Norton came on board next or Stephen Fry but, recent viewings of Mr Fry on QI (which I still find quite interesting and much more so when Johnny Vegas is on)have had me toning down the brightness on my tv. Am wondering if it is part of a 'gay celeb' status symbol. Or just really shit taste.

Let it not be said that I am totally biased, although confess to a high level of biast when it comes to Stephen Fry. I have clocked a more svelt like SF, lightening his hair (easy on the eye) and seeming to have become more aware of how to co-ordinate his costumery. Not that that actually makes much difference of my opinion of him as an 'essential item in anyone's recovery tool kit'. I didn't mind him on the plumpish side, with greying hair and not being a dedicated follower of fashion. I was more worried about this iconic status, as a MH gugu and spokesperson for us loonies at every MH gala event/media opportunity going.

No...it is for me a question of why? Why fake tan and why so orange? I mean I know us Brits love our gay celebs on the camp side. Not sure we are quite ready for a non camp gay celeb (for years we watched John Inman... telling us he was free... and although I am sure we knew in our heart of hears that he was gay...we couldn't quite bring ourselves to speak about it openly) but it wouldn't hurt for the water to be tested on that. There are possibly (because it is a pool full of lots of celeb fishes) that there are gay presenters who no one clocks are gay because they (for whatever reasons) haven't got a camp side to their personality. I am not knocking 'camp' in itself...more asking what the options are. What I am trying to say is that there must be more to gay people than being camp.

Possibly it is the historical comedic appeal of camp that prevails (stamped on the Brit psyche) but I am not sure that does gay people any favours if they actually are looking at equality or if it doesn't matter so much when they make celeb status as long as they make celeb status. Or maybe it does..and they just don't dare think about it????? Whatever, the orange thing does not look good on anyone (Gay or not) but is guaranteed to get a person noticed.

My second concern.... and this is much more serious.... is about Lesbian celebrities. How many can you name? I can only think of one: Ellen Degenereusse..I can't remember how to spell her surname but it sounds like that. If I remember rightly, she is an AMERICAN comedienne turned presenter turned talent contest judge. I have a certain amount of respect for her because I think she has actually done some trail blazing. Problem is the trail hasn't blazed it's way across the Atlantic. We reckon the Americans can be 'conservative' but I, unless oblivious to what is happening on the celeb scene, can't think of any celebs who are Lesbians. Perhaps people think this is petty but if we are talking about equality...then surely that means 'accessing all areas', being able to be open about one's sexuality (or not if one doesn't want to..but not being in the closet because ambiguity seems the most popular/safe route to take).

Are we 'as a nation' happy to stick with the camp gay male celebs but see lesbians as far more of a threat? If so a threat to what? Along the same lines but off on a bit of a tangent...female celebs seems to be becoming camper as well. What is all that about?

Maybe the fact that I am writing about celebrity is the crutch of this issue. In order to be a celebrity now...you gotta be brighter or louder or cleverer or polyfilled to the max and ORANGE!!! You gotta have a gimmick and a gimmick that keeps the suckers wanting more even if you have no real talent at all (had to get Katie Price in there somehow)...and in my books they don't get anymore camp than her.

What a backwards step for equality it all seems to be and a forward step for faking it for fame.


And maybe the orange thing is a bit tongue in cheek or maybe it is about something a little more complex. Hmmmmmmmm