n the early 1970’s, I am a few other radical Social Workers, Advocates and Human Rights Campaigners used the US Constitution and the UN’s Convention on Human Rights to close down the large ‘Subnormality’ Hospitals and Psychiatric Asylums and Disabled Institutions, to implement instead ‘Community Services’ operating in compliance with the Human Rights and Disability Rights Conventions of the UN. We succeeded. I have worked in many UK Local Authorities and a Social & Community Work Practitioner, Counsellor, Trainer and Therapist. I have live in & Work Wiltshire now over 15 years and have seen the same kinds of degradation of Principles & Ethics in my own Local Authority Services, the Social Service, Social Care & Psychiatric Professions in which I have worked and in my National Government of the UK. I have been an expert witness within those services and from the outside. Compared with my earlier Professional Campaigning days (in the 1970), choice and freedoms of clients and patient have been progressively ‘reduced’; against people’s Human Rights; even though Wiltshire was agreed (by a Senior Manager) to be more than 20 years behind the times, as compared with the Metropolitan areas. That was an assessment I concurred with; from years of experience in ‘Developing Policy’ and introducing ‘Good Practice’ & Training in these various Professional fields. The Mental Health of our key Community Resources are now in Legal Crisis. The institutions have become so corrupt and degraded that they complacently paper over their mistakes and the cracks. The more Central Government puts on the economic screws, the more some senior Professional Managers and Jobsworths have worked to cover the shortfalls and pretend all is well; in order to protect their own precious jobs and roles (Jobsworths). I have seen the Senior Manager of Respite Care Services for Wiltshire’s Leaning Disability Services blatantly lie in his deposition to a Judge at a Tribunal. I have seen the dishonest recordings of events and procedure, by the Manager and Deputy Manager of that Respite Service (Respite Care Home); to cover up a few workers inept & abusive practices; in spite of my multiple visits and talks and in spite of them having full access to all assessment material of myself and all previous professionals involved. These abusive incidents, incompetent responses and dishonest declarations caused such levels of distress to this (and other) Learning Disabled person that she ‘reacted’ aggressively to her effective imprisonment and the serious restriction of her ‘Human Rights’. The Police were called and refused to bring charges, or acknowledge her ‘role’ in the events as being problematic. Even the Police saw it as a ‘Professional Failing’ and discharged her back to the offending Residential Home. I have also seen a very competent guy with Autism who was admitted to ‘Winterbourne View’, a ‘Private’ Learning Disability, ‘Mental Health’ Facility (in Bristol). He was admitted because he lost his temper with an incompetent & insulting ‘Landlord-Carer’ (witnessed); thereby damaged a vacuum cleaner by throwing it down the stairs; broke his shower cubicle and told a condescending Carer to ‘Back Off’ (or words to that effect). His statement to that effect was competent and had been completely ignored by the professional’s involved, when he was admitted under the ‘Mental Health Act’. As a result of further Professional intransigence and lack of Managerial insight, he was further held back in this highly restrictive and demonstrably abusive environment, unlawfully for over a year. My then Professional Supervisor (Terri Messenger) refused to allow my submission for his legal and agreed discharge for more than 6 months (further delaying his discharge from a unit that was deemed to be abusive & was eventually closed down). After I was unlawfully removed from this and other challenging cases, this young man was eventually discharged ‘under duress’; after months of stressful and illegal delay, He was emotionally bullied to accept a ‘more restrictive’ (cheaper and less ‘Risk Averse’ to the service) arrangement than he had ‘clearly and legally requested and was entitled’. All of that recorded by many of his carers and myself, in accordance with the policy in place then and now. The original arrangement had been properly prepared many months in advance and the Supervisor (Terri Messenger of Wiltshire Learning Disability Services) was active in this unlawful delay. The further defensive actions of this Specialist Service resulted in another ‘Professional Cover Up’ of the complicit restrictive practice of Local Psychiatry; Social Work Managers; Contract Managers and a few Administrative Officials and Senior Managers in a number of Agencies. These Managers and Officials felt insecure about the new, ‘established’ Departmental Policy and the ‘challenging’ requisite Practices being introduced in order to bring Wiltshire’s Learning Disability Services up to date. Terry Messenger had said as much (to me) on a number of occasions, while blocking the presentation of the ‘Care Plan’ and ‘Risk Management Plan’ for this man’s urgent discharge form this highly restrictive ‘Care’ environment. Her incompetent Manager concurred with her, along with the deliberate suppressing Health & Safety Disclosures at that time. Since then I have been involved with 4 other serious professional and Institutional failing of a number of Wiltshire Social Work Departments, Community Care, Housing & Benefit Services and the Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership. Thankfully, since my unlawful dismissal for whistle blowing, it has not been possible to interfere in my professional activity and (like in the past) we have been successful in all challenges brought to date. (I have not lost one ‘Advocacy Battle’, accept my own, in 40 years of doing this work, mine is still work in progress though :- ). I have already posted most of these successful results on my wall, but will re-post them as supplementary ‘Comments’ and then as a complete ‘Facebook Note’ (my Method of Blogging). Check out pages & Groups: ‘Mental Health in Legal Crisis’, ‘Anti Abuse Anti Sociopath’; ‘Your Choice’, ‘Wiltshire Your Choice’ and my Facebook Wall; Terry Couchman. Since those early days of using the ‘American Constitution’ and the complementary legal framework of the ‘UN Treaty on Human Rights’, not only have we seen the deterioration of the American Dream, we have seen the corruption of the ‘Spirit’ of the ‘American Constitution’ and the collapse of the effective operation of the International Conventions on Human Rights. We have all suffered as a result, but the battle continues and I ask for all your moral support to turn this corruption and abuse around, in all Nations that were founded and progressed on the fundamental Human Principles enshrined in the original American Convention and The Convention on Human Right. This Film Sequence says it all for me. SPEAK OUT WITHOUT SHAME!!! One Human tribe
Posted on: Mon, 03 Feb 2014 05:54:04 +0000
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