A north victim of a paedophile ring has hit out at a lack of mental health resources, having contended with a “revolving door” of locums and 220-mile round trips for treatment.
Peter Todd was in great need of professional support to recover from the trauma of sexual abuse.
But he had a long wait ahead of him, and after being put on the waiting list with NHS Highland in 2013 he finally got an appointment five years later.
Building up a relationship with a psychiatrist was an important part of Peter’s recovery.
It meant he had someone he could work with and trust.
But the Caithness man says he’s been left in further distress having to explain the traumatic events in his life to several different psychiatrists.
He’s met five different locums who’ve travelled north to work in the area since starting his sessions.
And each time he saw a new one he had to go through everything all over again.
‘I felt like a tape recorder’
Peter began to feel like a “tape recorder” with a rewind button when he attended his appointments.
“For four years now in Caithness we’ve had this revolving door of locum psychiatrists,” he says.
“One locum leaves and another one starts.
“Every time you see a new one you have to explain why you’re referred in the first place. So you’re effectively being re-traumatised.
“It doesn’t provide any stability to patients, or to the permanent staff – and it’s hammering the organisation’s finances.”
Psychiatrists in Caithness: Why is the role so important?
Peter, a victim of a paedophile ring linked to MP Cyril Smith, stressed that he has no issue with any of the staff involved in his care.
He now makes a 220-mile round trip to New Craigs Hospital in Inverness for his treatment and says the clinicians have helped him “immensely”.
But he’s concerned about the impact the situation in Caithness has on patients.
He adds:Â “The psychiatrist, in my view, is probably the most important medical position in anyone’s treatment – they do assessments, medication reviews and crisis plans.
“But how can you provide stability when they’re chopping and changing constantly?
“It beggars belief.”
NHS Highland is currently investigating another complaint from Peter. He claims he’s been given confidential information about other patients three times this year.
The information was claimed to have been left in one of his medical files that he requested access to from the health board.
An NHS Highland spokeswoman said the health board was “very sorry” the patient had such a negative experience.
She added: “There are shortages of psychiatrists nationally and NHS Highland, in common with other health boards, is using locum cover while advertising vacancies.”
NHS Highland stressed that they were working hard to employ permanent staff with a recruitment campaign launched to highlight the benefits of living and working in the area.
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