Lisa Blakemore Brown - colleagues weigh in

Dr Rita PalDr Rita Pal has weighed-in on the scandal of Lisa Blakemore Brown and the British Psychological Society (backstory here and here). Dr Pal has become an expert on the bullying of individuals by professional regulatory bodies through the abuse of mental health diagnosis after she was subjected to a campaign of intimidation by the General Medical Council [Link to court judgment]. The concerns that Dr Pal raised that led to her abuse (about patient maltreatment in a Midlands hospital - Link) have not to this date been properly addressed. She subsequently brought proceedings against the GMC, leading to a landmark judgment in which the GMC was described as a totalitarian regime by Judge Charles Harris - "Anybody who criticises it is said to be prima facie mentally ill - what used to happen in Russia".

Dr Pal has a brain and a heart the size of a planet. The great pity is that if Dr Pal had not been so abused (by the very body that claims to regulate integrity in our profession) she would doubtless be one of the shining stars of medicine.

A few choice GMC documents that emerged in Dr Pal's landmark case underlie the predicament of Lisa Blakemore Brown now abused by a different professional body.

November 30 2000, from Peter Lynn (GMC):
'...she may be suffering from mental illness...Her correspondence, particularly the document I have flagged, certainly demonstrate that Dr Pal is extremely irrational...there must be some concern about this doctor having direct access to patients.'

November 30 2000, from the 'Screener' (GMC):
'...it would be hard to describe her as having a paranoid illness unless one had personal or other knowledge that her claims were untrue, which we don't have... I may be able to make discreet confidential enquiries which I will do and then discuss...'

October 17 2001, from the 'Screener' (GMC):
'I do think that she could have a health problem. She is certainly intemperate and possibly paranoid...'
Who are these appalling people and why are we allowing them to represent us without question?

Dr Pal has now written to the British Psychological Society asking simple questions about Lisa Blakemore Brown. I await the reply from the society with interest.


Message-ID: <014b01c73efe$a06a3a00$6402a8c0@d5505q0j>
From: Rita Pal
To: British Psychological Society
Subject: Ms Lisa Blakemore Brown
Date: Tue, 23 Jan 2007 14:56:12 -0000

Dear Sirs,

We have been advised of the history of Ms Lisa Blakemore Brown.

We have also been sent a copy letter written by Mr John Stoke and Dr Aubrey Blumsohn to the President. We also understand that a hearing is due very soon.

We would be grateful if you would kindly confirm whether

  1. Your press representatives would participate in an e-interview.
  2. Whether there are transcripts of previous hearings we can have access to under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
  3. Whether it will be possible to attend the next hearing thereby providing the public with an account of the conduct of the British Psychological Society.
  4. Please confirm whether the BPS has a complaints procedure and if so, I would be grateful if you would kindly enclose it.
  5. Please confirm whether the legal assessors of the BPS have confirmed that its conduct is in line with the Human Rights Act 1998.
  6. If the hearings related to Lisa Blakemore Brown are not "open" to the public, we would be grateful for your reasons for this.
  7. One could perceive the British Psychological Society to have developed an unhealthy "obsession" with Ms Lisa Blakemore Brown. I am absolutely positive that the behaviour of stalkers is not dissimilar to that of the society. Indeed, this issue will be studied in great detail within the article.
  8. We will probably run an internet petition against the BPS with respect to Lisa Blakemore Brown. As you are aware, it is of paramount importance that the public has confidence in those who regulate psychologists. Their conduct has to be seen to be fair.
For the record, I have spoken in detail to Ms Blakemore Brown and she seems to be as sane as the next person.

Many thanks for your assistance.

Dr Rita Pal
Editor NHS Exposed [Link]
Voted in the top 50 Best Health Websites by the Times Newspapers

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Comments on: Lisa Blakemore Brown - colleagues weigh in

 

Blogger Dr Rita Pal said ... (January 27, 2007) : 

I believe this is one of the complainants against Lisa Blakemore Brown

http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/324/7339/693/a

BMJ 2002;324:693 ( 23 March )

News
Woman at centre of Southall case faces prison sentence
Caroline White, London

Robert Freeth, Sunderland

The woman who instigated complaints against consultant paediatrician Professor David Southall, which ended in his suspension from clinical practice for two years, is facing a "substantial" prison sentence.

Penny Mellor, who campaigns on behalf of parents who claim to be wrongly accused of child abuse, was convicted last month at Newcastle upon Tyne Crown Court of plotting to hide a child from police and social services.

A family from Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, who feared that their 9 year old daughter was about to be taken into care, contacted Mrs Mellor.

The family's fears were groundless, the court heard, although doctors had diagnosed fabricated or induced illness, formerly known as Munchausen syndrome by proxy. At Mrs Mellor's behest, the child and her grandmother travelled to Mrs Mellor's home in Wolverhampton. Mrs Mellor put them in touch with a Scotsman, Stuart Carnie, with whom they subsequently went on the run for four weeks to Ireland and Scotland, the court heard.

The parents, grandmother, and Mr Carnie later admitted conspiracy to abduct a child. The family members were jailed for between six and nine months each last year. Mr Carnie failed to turn up for sentencing and is still being sought by police.

Judge Guy Whitburn QC granted Mellor bail pending the preparation of a pre-sentence report, but told her: "You would be wise to use this time to prepare for a substantial prison sentence."

Mrs Mellor was credited with forcing Professor Southall's suspension from clinical duty at North Staffordshire Hospitals NHS Trust in November 1999 while the serious allegations she had made about him earlier that year were investigated. Although he has now been completely exonerated by the trust, the string of complaints she made about him to the General Medical Council are still being investigated.

These are my isssues with Penny Mellor
1. Yes, I know of her conversations with the GMC. She had one contact there.
2. I have absolutely no idea why this lady is believed.
3. We have to ask ourselves - who is Penny Mellor?
4. I believe her complaint against Lisa Blakemore Brown is unfounded.
5. I would like the BPS to confirm whether psychiatrists have examined the forensic history and mental state of the complainants in this case. I am happy to examine their mental state myself.
6. If Ms Mellor would like to print this out for the BPS, then I would be grateful if you would kindly respect my copyright.
7. It is important to understand that a protracted campaign against Lisa Blakemore Brown may possibly result in disclosure of important documents related to Ms Mellor. This is of course in the public's interest.

FAO Penny Mellor

By the way, give my regards to that odd journalist friend of yours Brian Morgan. Please let me know if he has written anything of journalistic importance.

Perhaps its important you leave the scientific analysis to doctors and scientists while you spend sometime studying and furthering your knowledge as opposed to getting on your bandwagon and thumping away aimlessly. That is what it seems like to me anyhow.

By the way, CRB checks should apply to complainants as well as doctors. It is a great shame you Penny are not subject to the same scrutiny as all of us.

Regards

Dr Rita Pal

 

Anonymous paula said ... (January 27, 2007) : 

There is something very wrong in institutions that work hard to silence questioning or criticism by diagnosing those critics as mentally ill or firing them. It certainly gives an impression that they have something they desperately wish to remain hidden.

Those engaging in such tactics make a mockery of science and their own institution, abuse their position of power, cause unnecessary suffering to the critic/questioner and intimidate other members so effectively silencing those too.

It is cruel, unethical, unscientific and just plain WRONG!

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (January 29, 2007) : 

http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=149992007
Punished, betrayed, sidelined - our 'lost generation' of autistic children
Please click on the link above.
This is happening all over the country and people like Lisa are speaking out to help our children.
She is a very brave person but when she goes against the grain like many other professionals do she is attacked.
Parents are speaking out now to support her and many other professionals who are not frightened of the truth because their is an real epidemic happening and the government are burying their heads in the sand.
Just you wait until the children become adults then who will pay the price for looking after them.


Isabella

 

Anonymous Charles Pragnell said ... (January 29, 2007) : 

I have been a colleague and friend of Lisa Blakemore-Brown for many years
and we have worked together on cases in England and other parts of the
world.

I share with Lisa a complete opposition to the use of MSBP/FII as a claimed
theory of child abuse and have particular concerns at its use against
families with chronically sick and disabled children especially children
with ADHD and Asperger's Syndrome and others with ME/Chronic Fatigue
Syndrome. Many of the children in this latter group have now been found to
be suffering from Lyme Disease (Borreliosis) yet moves are afoot in
psychiatric circles to have ME/CFS defined as a psychiatric disorder.

I have no knowledge of the metabolic process by which vaccines cause ADHD
and other forms of autism and Dr. Andrew Wakefield has been similarly
pilloried within the medical profession for attempting to establish this
link, but I do know from the personal testimonies of many dozens of parents
that the onset of autism followed closely on from the administration of
certain vaccines to the child. Parents have then faced a gauntlet of
accusations by doctors and social workers that they have caused the child's
illness (MSBP) or later have been similarly accused by Education Authorities
when they have sought special schooling for their autistic child. Health,
Education, and Social Work authorities appear to have at the least colluded
against these parents and at worst have actively collaborated to deny the
autism and the associated links with vaccines and have removed children into
State Care rather than meet their responsibilities to provide appropriate
services for the child and the family.

My opposition to this state of affairs has also led to my being treated as a
pariah among the professions but,as yet, I have suffered only serious
pecuniary loss, as I am not accountable to any self-appointed and
self-governing regulatory body. If I were, I am quite sure that I would be
facing a similar situation to Lisa.

The professions associated with the care of children are extremely sensitive
to any form of criticisms of their practices and beliefs and anyone within
one of those professions who questions the conventional wisdoms which others
have unquestioningly accepted, risks the wrath and accompanying sanctions
which that profession can apply. Discussion and debate is not encouraged,
unless of course it is fully in support of this conventional wisdom. MSBP is
a prime example of copious numbers of professionals jumping on a bandwagon
without applying the usual tenets of logical thought and deductive reasoning
to the premise which has been put forward. The Internet is full of articles
by devoted followers of the MSBP theory with none of them applying academic
rigour to what is proposed and not questioning its lack of scientific
integrity or merit, yet continuing to repeat its suppositions and usually to
add their own embellishments. Even the DoH and the RCPCH followed in these
footsteps without any pretence at making their own scientifically based
studies.

Just as the major Christian churches of the past purged themselves of those
followers who question and challenge the doctrines and dogma of those faiths
and label them as heretics, so the professions and their governing bodies
(Inquisitions) are going down the same route. They will be undeterred by
rational or logical argument against their intentions but merely want to
demonstrate their intolerance of dissent and in the same way as the
Inquisitions operated they will give no thought to the basic principles of
legal process nor of the rights of the accused.

Lisa and I are guilty of challenging a part of the belief systems of these
professions and it is clear that the BPS are prepared to stoop to any
underhand methods and to disregard the principles of due process, in order
to seek to discredit Lisa and to thereby discredit her invaluable work on
behalf of families with autistic children. They must not be allowed to
succeed.

Charles Pragnell Dip.S.W., L.R.C.C.
Expert Witness - Child Protection and Child/Family Advocate.
UK/Australasia.

 

Anonymous Cris B said ... (January 30, 2007) : 

I understand the BPS has charitable status. Would it not be a good idea to write to the Charities Commission about the BPSs persecution of Lisa? If they lost their 'charitable status' would they fold?

 

Anonymous Anonymous said ... (February 06, 2007) : 

If they can defame and discredit people of different opinion, or those who threaten their commercial interests by citing mental illness as opposed to rational argument, this certainly brings the whole profession of psychology into disrepute. I would want to see a full conflict of interest statement from all involved. As a BPS member I think we should be demanding to know what they are up to.

Gill

 

Blogger Anonymous said ... (September 17, 2007) : 

Does anyone have current contaxt address for Lisa Blakemore Brown. I need to get in touch with her regarding case involving Aperger syndrome and MSBP

 

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