(photo : Parcel sent by Ruth Hughes to cheer her son Gordon who has been detained for 4 years in The State Hospital for an assessment which should have lasted no longer than 6 months)
Dear Friends & Supporters
It is more than 3 months since our last update. Progress is difficult and slow. We are getting tired, but we are not giving up.
Ruth Hughes has not been allowed to visit her son Gordon since December 2020. She had spent only 6 hours with him since the start of the lockdown in March 2020. The hospital claims that “He does not want his parents to visit him.”
Gordon, who is autistic, was referred to high secure The State Hospital (TSH) for a specialist psychiatric assessment in March 2017. He was transferred, in “exceptional circumstances,” directly from a low secure hospital because there was no availability in medium secure. The assessment should have lasted at most 6 months. He has been there ever since. His mental and physical health have deteriorated dramatically due to the restrictive regime, isolation from his family, and the strong drugs being forced on him. In despair, he refuses to leave his room.
On Monday 6 September Ruth posted a box of goodies – Gordon's favourite treats, DVDs, and toiletries - to remind him that he has a Mum and a family that cares. In a card she wrote “Think about you every day. Love you very much and miss you.” The following Monday the parcel was returned unopened. Return postage was deducted from Gordon's pocket money held by the hospital.
A note accompanying the returned parcel, from Dr X, the psychiatrist detaining Gordon, said that “Gordon does not want the parcel.” The hospital Head of Security explained that the clinical team can lawfully withhold deliveries if they are "not in the best interests of the patient."
At the end of August, against Ruth's wishes, Dr X made sudden changes to his medication over a few days, instead of tapering slowly over months. Gordon became severely ill on 19 September with elevated heartbeat and temperature, vomiting and diarrhoea. He was rushed to Hairmyres Hospital in Glasgow 3 days later. "That's his [mental] illness coming back,” Dr X explained.
Whilst at TSH Gordon has lost his hair, and his teeth are rotting away. A strapping lad of 5 ft 9 in and 13 st 7 lb on admission, his weight has fallen to 9 st 4 lb. Although only 23 he looks like an old man. “That woman [Dr X] has destroyed my boy,” Ruth says.
A mental health tribunal on 25 March recommended a change of psychiatrist or Mediation to deal with the conflict between Dr X and Ruth about what treatment is best for Gordon. The hospital's Medical Director vetoed a change of psychiatrist. Seven months later the hospital has only just sent Ruth the forms to initiate Mediation. In January 2021 Ruth asked the Mental Welfare Commission to review Gordon's care and treatment. She is still waiting for an outcome to that process also.
A second tribunal on 6 May ruled that Gordon remains a “significant risk” to himself or the public. The only “risk” appears to be coming from the hospital itself.
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Our next step will be to re-submit our Petition to the Scottish Parliament. Petition PE01849 was closed on 13 January 2021 because of an ongoing review of Scottish Mental Health & Incapacity Law. https://archive2021.parliament.scot/GettingInvolved/Petitions/securehospitalreview
Please continue to share this Petition on social media.
Barry Gale (mhrscot at gmx dot co dot uk)