Undergoing A Section Assessment of The Mental Health Act (Guest Post)

Andrew Bowen Section Assessment

Andrew is a friend I have made over the internet and he managed to capture this amazing video of a section assessment at his home in Devon in 2015. It’s a great idea to use technology to protect yourself as a vulnerable mental patient. It is most intimidating facing a section assessment and in my case I have always been dragged off to a mental hospital after one. This video shows just how unreasonable all parties – the doctors, social workers, nurses and police can be. Andrew demonstrates a clear resolve with calm composure. I would recommend watching this and taking tips on how to handle an assessment if you are forced to ever undergo one. At the end of the assessment, Andrew wasn’t sectioned and managed to retain his freedom. I will leave you with the Youtube video plus some words to follow from Andrew himself. [wezg – End Of Terror]

Where do I start? Well it would be impossible for me to put my life story on here so I’m thinking there will be some who will say they were only thinking about my best interests, β€œNO THEY WERE NOT” if you knew the history you would understand, no matter what you say will not change how it really is. this is an edited video what you will see I had to endure for over an hour as my goal for the day was to get out to seek help with exactly what they were doing to me, not to enter into a game of words to avoid them from sectioning me, to make aware this experience was something new to me.

So earlier in the week having got to a point once again of being overwhelmed in challenging failures, ridiculing and a smear campaign from a supposed support system that is in place for us all in times of need, that has in fact left me more damaged in the community than the damage caused to me as a child from sexual and physical abuse, everyone of these people you will see in this video represents organisations that have lied, deflected and denied to cover up their institutional abuse and failings of the past that have become core issues in the same relative way as the issues as being abused as a child, can you imagine yet they close me off force me into isolation to stop me talking, ironic really when they say to encourage abuse victims to talk to help them to move on, fundamentally they have been victim blaming and ridiculing in the community simply for trying to talk about historical abuse issues from the past, that as I hope you can imagine has not been easy to open up with being a slow gradual process over years.

During my visit to my Doctor one of many for the same issues, I knew there would be nothing she could do for me, only I’m not going to sit in silence to be mentally abused at times this has also been physical violence from within the support networks, that on raising the issue with the appropriate organisation the police has been covered up to my detriment, so you could say everything they have expected in their criteria of an abuse victim in talking they have destroyed any recovery simply to protect themselves.

Anyway back to my Doctor visit, during my appointment my Doctor asked as she has asked me on previous occasions if I had thoughts of suicide, given what I have explained it’s not an unreasonable thought process to be in, which is always what I have tried to explain, although I have been put into a position to think that way I told her in my own words, I would not have the balls to harm myself to which she replied β€œGOOD” I further went on to say as I have previously β€œFULLY COMPOS MENTIS” under no circumstances DO NOT raise a concern, as in doing so would bring me into contact with the people and organisations that have cause myself harm, the very reason I was sat talking with her for in that moment, I also reassured that I understood her duty of care, but under under any circumstances DO NOT PUT THEM ONTO ME, I could not of been any more reassuring, one thing the system has taught me is to say it how it is, what I was simply putting across given the history it was not a good place to be.

The next day there was a buzz on my intercom, I answered and was shocked outraged to have explained the person I was talking with was from NHS mental health another service that has wilfully gone out of their way to damage me in the past to stop me from talking of failures within the system, in no uncertain terms and with a few choice words that you will hear stated in the video where to go!

Outraged by this clear breach of trust in Doctor, patient confidence, the following day I went to see the practise manager to make an in person complaint explaining the circumstances, even I know that unless it is a written formal complaint it will not go anywhere, so anyway it was the usual instead of looking at the facts, Doctors shit don’t stink, we agreed the practise manager would have a talking to with the Doctor, it was left at that, with myself saying I hope NHS mental health are not going to go away and write more damaging remarks in a report, especially as I had not invited them to do so, to which the practise manager tried to reassure all was ok they would not.

The rest is academic the male Asian Doctor in the video has worked in a previous life for the police and may well still do, he explains he has been sent by the courts, this Doctor has in my view attempted to ridicule in the past in my recovery with police contact, absolute nightmare of mind games they play, so from the onset this encounter was extremely intimidating for myself.

The video does not show the lack of dignity from them once they entered what is supposed to be our safe space, making comments about correspondence, letters that were in open view, making comments on my furnishings, I felt invaded by the people and organisations that have caused myself so much damage, leaving me damaged in the community.

POSTSCRIPT:

Subsequently from the video at around 16 mins you hear the police say we’re not here to write anything down it has nothing to do with us… at a later date the police tried to use this to smear me in a complaint I had against them, saying that I had been sectioned which is not true, the information commissioners office found that they were holding inaccurate data and told them to amend it, the breach and sharing of the data is still an ongoing matter with the ICO.

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