OPEN LETTER TO THE CHIEF PSYCHIATRIST OF VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA
by Benjamin Merhav
Prof. Kuruvilla George,
Chief Psychiatrist
Melbourne, Victoria
In re : my daughter, Miss Rebeckah Merhav
Sir,
as you know, my daughter has been subjected to compulsory psychiatric treatment (under CTO) for over 33 years now, yet the current treating psychiatrist won't let go of her even now. There is absolutely no justification for this refusal, not even from a psychiatric point of view. Yet his views are those that count when my daughter appeals to the MHRB against the CTO, not my daughter's sufferings and objections, as her past experiences at MHRB hearings prove.
Moreover, the treating psychiatrist at Junction Clinic refuses to gradually reduce the Antipsychotic drugs (clozapine and risperdal) she has been forced to consume despite the currently known adverse and suffering causing effects, despite the potentially deadly dangers to which she has been exposed as a result, and despite the stated commitment to do that by Dr. Sally Wilkins, the previous treating psychiatrist. To add insult to injury, myself her father, have been forbidden to even contact, let alone complain on her behalf to the treating psychiatrist, or to anybody in Junction Clinic.
This prohibition, along with other threats against me, had been spelled out in a letter to me ,dated 1st April, 2008, by the Legal Counsel of Bayside Health, acting on behalf of the Head of Psychiatry at Alfred Hospital who is in charge of the regional Clinics. The only liaison nurse who was appointed by your office for weekly contact with me happened to be so busy that she has not contacted me for over 3 months now. Even when she did contact me before that she was never able to discuss with the psychiatrist my daughter's complaints that I had submitted to her.
This intransigence by the psychiatrist and by his superior is seriously endangering the life of my daughter. In addition to the official list of dangers to her health and to her life, including Clozapine induced neuroleptic malignant syndrome causing sudden death, and including
Antipsychotic drugs induced permanent brain damage, there is now a new life threatening danger for my daughter. It is the deprivation of her normal sleep caused by the clozapine.
by Benjamin Merhav
Prof. Kuruvilla George,
Chief Psychiatrist
Melbourne, Victoria
In re : my daughter, Miss Rebeckah Merhav
Sir,
as you know, my daughter has been subjected to compulsory psychiatric treatment (under CTO) for over 33 years now, yet the current treating psychiatrist won't let go of her even now. There is absolutely no justification for this refusal, not even from a psychiatric point of view. Yet his views are those that count when my daughter appeals to the MHRB against the CTO, not my daughter's sufferings and objections, as her past experiences at MHRB hearings prove.
Moreover, the treating psychiatrist at Junction Clinic refuses to gradually reduce the Antipsychotic drugs (clozapine and risperdal) she has been forced to consume despite the currently known adverse and suffering causing effects, despite the potentially deadly dangers to which she has been exposed as a result, and despite the stated commitment to do that by Dr. Sally Wilkins, the previous treating psychiatrist. To add insult to injury, myself her father, have been forbidden to even contact, let alone complain on her behalf to the treating psychiatrist, or to anybody in Junction Clinic.
This prohibition, along with other threats against me, had been spelled out in a letter to me ,dated 1st April, 2008, by the Legal Counsel of Bayside Health, acting on behalf of the Head of Psychiatry at Alfred Hospital who is in charge of the regional Clinics. The only liaison nurse who was appointed by your office for weekly contact with me happened to be so busy that she has not contacted me for over 3 months now. Even when she did contact me before that she was never able to discuss with the psychiatrist my daughter's complaints that I had submitted to her.
This intransigence by the psychiatrist and by his superior is seriously endangering the life of my daughter. In addition to the official list of dangers to her health and to her life, including Clozapine induced neuroleptic malignant syndrome causing sudden death, and including
Antipsychotic drugs induced permanent brain damage, there is now a new life threatening danger for my daughter. It is the deprivation of her normal sleep caused by the clozapine.
It was well known hitherto that sleeplessness can cause permanent memory loss (see : http://psychcentral.com/news/2008/06/11/sleep-problem-can-lead-to-memory-loss/2441.html ). However, recent research proves that deprivation of sleep can also cause death (see : http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8660373.stm ,and see also : http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/feb/09/dangers-sleep-deprivation ; and see also : http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-12398114 ).
One of the many official and well known "side effects" of the clozapine is the over production of saliva in the consumer's mouth. My daughter has been spreading a large towel on her pillow before going to sleep, to absorb the saliva dribbling from her mouth during her sleep. However, some of that excessive saliva finds its way into her wind pipe, thus causing her to wake up. The result has been that my daughter has not had even one restful night sleep ever since she has been forced to consume the clozapine well over five years
ago !
I therefore ask you to order the immediate cancellation of the CTO and/or the immediate but gradual reduction of the clozapine and the risperdal she is forced to consume so as to save her life before it is too late !
Sincerely, Benjamin Merhav
