mental health
When hospital is a prison
Ben Goldacre on the use of psychiatry as a form of social control, and the politically-motivated diagnosis of mental illness. Feb 2003.
When I hear the phrase “political psychiatric diagnosis”, I start thinking about Soviet dissidents, dosed up on thioridazine, being physically restrained on lock-up wards. I like to think I would have had nothing to do with that kind of business, because I went into psychiatry to help people, not to be a jailer.
24th suicide in 18 months at France Telecom
A 51-year-old father of two threw himself off a viaduct after leaving a note for his wife blaming his work situation for his decision.
This was the second suicide in three weeks by a France Telecom employee. The first, of a 32-year-old woman, took place on September 11 and has been officially recognised as a work accident. Unions have announced that they will be instigating legal action to have the most recent death recognised as a workplace accident.
Karen Reissman strike suspended
150 NHS mental health workers in Manchester who have been on strike since early November following the sacking of Karen Reissman are to return to work on Monday 17th December, without having secured her reinstatement.
The strike is now set to be replaced by a "national Unison campaign". In place of industrial action the union is supporting a claim for unfair dismissal at an employment tribunal, an early day motion by Unison sponsored MPs and looking to organise a national lobby of parliament in the New Year.
Manchester nurses strike for Karen Reissman
Nurses today began a rolling strike after their union leader was sacked for speaking to the media.
More than 150 staff, who care for 1,000 seriously-ill psychiatric patients, are on picket lines across Manchester and say they will not return to work until senior nurse Karen Reissmann is reinstated.
The strike follows the decision of Manchester Mental Health and Social Care Trust bosses to sack Ms Reissmann on Monday.
700 health workers to strike in defence of their union rep
700 health workers, mainly nurses, will be out on strike again for 3 days Wednesday 31st October, Thursday 1st November and Friday 2nd November.
UNISON members who work for Manchester Mental Health and Social Care Trust are protesting about the ongoing suspension of their branch chair and national health executive member, Karen Reissmann.
Manchester nurses continue strikes in defence of suspended colleague
Manchester mental health UNISON members will be on strike again on Thursday 18th, Friday 19th and Monday 22nd October.
This coincides with the disciplinary hearing for their branch chair, Karen Reissmann. There will be a mass lobby of the hearing Thursday 18th October 8am, at the Trust’s headquarters (Chorlton House, 70 Manchester Rd, Chorlton, Manchester M21 9UN) where the disciplinary hearing will take place.
In a statement, UNISON said:
NHS Trust sets date for Reissmann disciplinary hearing
Talks between UNISON and Manchester’s mental health trust broke down on Monday (Oct 1st) when the Trust announced they will hold a disciplinary hearing for Karen Reissmann, a trade union activist, in 2 weeks time.
Striking nurses lobbied their board last Thursday and were told their trust had “made approaches to Unison Regional Centre regarding ways of halting the industrial action”. When they met yesterday (Monday) UNISON regional officers were merely informed that the trust was to convene a disciplinary hearing for Karen the week beginning 15th October.
France: another suicide by Renault worker
This death was the fourth suicide in a year by a worker at the Guyancourt technocentre site.
The company immediately sought to distance itself from the suicide, firstly by claiming that the man in question had been on sick leave since September 6 and secondly by claiming that his workplace was only administratively a part of the site which has seen three other workers take their own lives in the last year.
Manchester mental health staff strike again
After a similar strike just over two weeks ago, hundreds of mental health workers in Manchester are going on strike for a second time today in a row over the suspension of union official, Karen Reissman.
Reissmann, a psychiatric nurse, was suspended in June for allegedly bringing Manchester Mental Health and Social Care Trust into disrepute.
The union Unison said she was suspended for speaking out against job cuts and government policies. The NHS trust has said it is a private employment matter. About 700 workers staged a similar three-day strike last month.
Mental health workers on strike in support of colleague
Nearly 700 UNISON members in Manchester Community and Mental Health branch went on strike yesterday in support of their colleague Karen Reissman, suspended from work since June.
About half the strikers were on lively picket lines at the four main sites - at Wythenshawe Hospital, Chorlton House (Trust HQ), Manchester Royal Infirmary and North Manchester General Hospital.
