The NHS Consultant Psychiatrist Who Never Qualified

[My Old Landy]

I spent 6 years working in the nuclear industry. They vet you from top to toe. You can only work on projects you have the relevant quals for. Until they want you and then they go on experience believe me, I am living proof!!

 

[rtcosic]

Since graduation in 1974 I worked for :
Anglo American
Mobil
Amoco
Elf
Total

I have been basic level vetted under some petroleum installations security act that escapes me, police volunteering (two different Force areas) and charity works (twice).

The only time anyone asked to see my original graduation certificate was to obtain a residence permit for RSA.
No one has ever asked for proof of my now lapsed IChemE membership status.

Once you are accepted within the system experience dictates.

As there have been so many cases like this, the NHS may have tightened up its processes since the 1970's though!

ETA @My Old Landy experience seems to match mine.

 

[slim_boy_fat]

Threads going way-off topic seem to happen quite a lot.

It's de rigeur here, don'tcha know....

 

[gaz1]

FWIW, DBS checks were introduced 11 yrs ago and CRB was 10 yrs before that. She entered the industry 27 yrs ago. I'm not saying it's right but can see how she got away with it. She would have been moving from hospital to hospital on references.

Colin

you wont like my comment

all that implies is that the scraped from one set of info to another without anymore checks that is held on file

and that clearly states that the system is at a sever failure for data that is held on file against anyone

the point i was saying is she swapped jobs plenty of times with private and the nhs why wasnt this info rechecked on eack application

simple answer is there details was never checked as her documents was forged and the system that supplied those details was ineffect false

i would fine even that system alot of money as they used unchecked data held within there system that had dire consequences for many other people out there

 

[Chippie]

No facebook is best place for welding advice! Full of experts and weld porn!

Facebook is just full of experts who know everything…more than Wikipedia …..

 

[roofman]

I ve been a psychiatrist to my 3 daughters ever since they where born and the oldest is 39 now

 

[m_c]

I've got an Enhanced Disclosure (equivalent of an enhanced DBS in England), and it mentions nothing about my qualifications.
It's solely a background check for criminal convictions, with the enhanced bit also including certain other interactions you may have had with the police, along with spent convictions.

As for things not being checked when swapping jobs, medical employers rely on the GMC for ensuring registered doctors have the relevant qualification(s).
Individual employers (be that private or NHS), don't carryout those checks. If you don't have a GMC license, then you're not getting employed.

In this case, it's the GMC who dropped the ball in 1995.

 

[Cobbler]

And it turned out they were and he wasnt.
It was said he had run off to Canada to be a tree surgeon......

perhaps he was experienced at taking off limbs

 

[Ross365]

I ve been a psychiatrist to my 3 daughters ever since they where born and the oldest is 39 now

Well, it's always seemed to me that a wise and friendly grandfather or uncle to talk to would be much better than anything you were likely to get from the NHS but you're keeping it even tighter. Let me just say, the NHS was never set up to to mental health care, which is so-labour intensive. I know it was set up to fix bones, cure rickets and help with diseases like cancer. That said, a friend has a grown-up daughter, who lives alone and is often found hiding in the wardrobe. Neither the family nor the doctors are able to help her very much.

 

[roofman]

Well, it's always seemed to me that a wise and friendly grandfather or uncle to talk to would be much better than anything you were likely to get from the NHS but you're keeping it even tighter. Let me just say, the NHS was never set up to to mental health care, which is so-labour intensive. I know it was set up to fix bones, cure rickets and help with diseases like cancer. That said, a friend has a grown-up daughter, who lives alone and is often found hiding in the wardrobe. Neither the family nor the doctors are able to help her very much.

she might like the wardrobe..why fix something that is not broke

 

[brightspark]

dunno what the fuss is all about she had an nvq -=not very qualified wunder if anyone under her care can sue due to wrong diagnosis

 

[m_c]

I suspect some on here are mixing up Psychiatrists and Psychologists .

Psychiatrists are medically trained doctors who specialise in mental health issues, who can section you and prescribe medication.
Psychologists are not medical doctors, but still specialise in mental health/wellbeing issues, and can only talk to you about your problems.

There is very slight overlap between them, but one you'll see if you're having severe mental health issues like a psychotic episode, the other you'll see if you have less severe mental health wellbeing issues like depression.

 

[Seadog]

There’s been news about a woman who worked for 27 years, and in many different hospitals, as a Consultant psychiatrist in the NHS, but had never gained any qualifications. She’s been jailed for 7 years https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-64797676

The reason she was caught is that she started try to change patients Will’s, a bit like the GP, Harold Shipman.
I’m trying to figure out what conclusions to draw about what the implications of this story are about the effectiveness of qualified NHS psychiatrists? I think the implications are quite bad?

Will's what?

 

[marlinspike]

I would imagine being a consultant psychiatrist was easier to get away with than being the one who made the original diagnoses and assessments. You could just agree with what your underlings said and keep your head down. I expect there was a bit of regarding them as useless but not daring to question their qualifications after such a long time. The fact that she moved around so much suggests she wasn't that competent.

And of course, being mental health, the damage she's done is less easy to spot and quantify than the damage made by an incompetent surgeon or GP. Not content with fraudulently being on a big salary she had to start robbing elderly patients. Truly despicable.

 

[Ross365]

I suspect some on here are mixing up Psychiatrists and Psychologists .
Psychiatrists are medically trained doctors who specialise in mental health issues, who can section you and prescribe medication.
Psychologists are not medical doctors, but still specialise in mental health/wellbeing issues, and can only talk to you about your problems.
There is very slight overlap between them, but one you'll see if you're having severe mental health issues like a psychotic episode, the other you'll see if you have less severe mental health wellbeing issues like depression.

I won't argue with that, but it's a bit off the point. In 2023, in the NHS, you'll wait a long time to see either species and neither will have the time to provide effective care.

On the distinctive difference of the prescribing of medication, primarily antidepressants, the widespread belief is that the currently available drugs are a really not very effective; some people get no benefit from them and others for only a limited period, and many get bad side-effects. But they are widely prescribed and often by humble GP's who are also pressed for time and know that referring people to consultants will probably not get good or timely outcomes.

 

[m_c]

I’m trying to figure out what conclusions to draw about what the implications of this story are about the effectiveness of qualified NHS psychiatrists? I think the implications are quite bad?

I'm going to jump back to your original question.
The answer is just because she wasn't qualified, does not mean she didn't know the required information to do the job in question.

She did train be become a doctor, but we don't know the reasons or how long into the course that she dropped out.
She could have been a star student, or she could have been a clueless stoner, however in order to last as long as she did, even with lots of jobs/moving around, she must have had some level of competence to not raise any serious questions, and progress. I don't think anybody starts a medical career as a consultant, so she must have had enough competence and knowledge early in here career to convince more senior staff she could do the job.

It's not like she randomly one day decided to to put a fraudulent application in with no previous knowledge of what she was applying for. She obviously had enough knowledge to convince people.