Some reflections by a retired nurse on asylums old and new
Earlier this evening, I had a fascinating conversation with a relative who’d trained as a learning disability nurse in the 1960s. She shared her memories as a nurse, visitor and patient at Coldeast...
View ArticleWhat you need is a nice little rest …
I remember years ago, when I was travelling round Australia with a friend who began to experience troubling mental health symptoms, going with her to a psychiatric clinic. I recall the kindly nurse,...
View ArticleMental health and human rights: What have human rights ever done for me?
Human rights are for everyone and they affect our lives every day, especially the lives of people managing mental health problems: the more vulnerablle and marginalised a person is, the more important...
View ArticleMental health and human rights: Why aren’t human rights groups interested in...
. Why aren’t human rights groups interested in the human rights of people with mental health problems, especially when there’s so much for them to get their teeth into? Is it just the same ol’...
View ArticleUse of force on psychiatric patients – 3 recommendations for starting to...
How is the quality of inpatient mental health care measured? I’m asking a question, because I don’t know the answer and I’d be happy to learn if anyone would like to send me information. So far as I...
View ArticleA total smoking ban for detained psychiatric patients stinks of coercion
Following on from my piece ‘Banned by the BMJ’, below is the article which was to be published in the British Medical Journal on 7th November as part of the ‘Head to Head’ series ahead of the...
View Article“Safe” staffing on mental health wards
Some thoughts on “safe” staffing and what this mean on psychiatric inpatient wards. . . .
View ArticleWho protects the rights of mental health patients?
. Police don’t know the ins and outs of mental health law. Doctors don’t understand the difference between clinical judgment (with all its grey areas) and legal reasoning (which is more black and...
View ArticleJustification
It’s been a long day: first I had to explain mental illness to a psychiatrist; then I had to explain mental health cuts to my family. They know. Or they should. That’s the thing with mental health:...
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