From the desk of Thomas Hoskyns Leonard

Writer, Poet and Mathematical Statistician

4/3 Hopetoun Crescent Edinburgh EH7 4AY

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Tel: 0131 557 6168

July 2012

The Scottish Department of Health,

The Scottish Government,

St.Andrew’s House

Regent Road

Edinburgh

EH1 3DG

Regarding the frequently occurring, debilitating physical side effects of many psychiatric medications, and the extremely cruel treatment of NHS mental health patients in Mid-Lothian by their consultant psychiatrists.

Dear Colleagues,

Earlier this year, I initiated a wide-ranging campaign regarding the debilitating physical side effects of Epilim Chrono and other mind-controlling medications. While NHS Mental Health Services Midlothian, NHS Lothian at Waverley Gate, and Advocard have not been helpful, I have learnt that many NHS inpatients and outpatients are treated in a remarkably cruel and gung ho fashion by their consultant psychiatrists.

For example ‘Alexander’ was paralysed and put on crutches after being injected in his posterior with flumenpixol, for thinking that he was Jesus and performing an innocuous prank. He was subsequently sent to an isolation cell in the Royal Ed on a pretext, arm-twisted Carstairs-style though without a Carstairs ‘kicking’, and injected in his posterior with modecate.This has caused severe physical side effects ever since, including slobbery-ness, poor sleep cycles, increased sexual interest, and erectile dysfunction. After eleven years, his psychiatrist (who is less pre-eminent than the earlier one)has suddenly started to wean him off the modecate. It’s not obvious whether this change of heart is because of my campaign on Alexander’s behalf. If he doesn’t need the modecate now, then why did he need it in the first place?

To cap that, ‘Lionel’ was given ‘punishment injections’, by acuphasing with clopixol in aneven crueller and demeaning fashion, for laughing at the television. The clopixol caused several severe physical side effects including unconsciousness. Lionel has since been injected with modecate, with several serious side effects. He has also been ‘treated’ with an oral medication called Largactil. This frequently prescribed drug caused dangerously increased sensitivity to sunlight, a painful condition which can lead to skin cancer. Another of the many side effects of Largactil is a prolonged painful erection which could prove to be disastrous if it led to a splitting of the penis.

According to a Community Psychiatric Nurse, who spilt the beans to me last year (while pressuring me to keep taking my Epilim while I was suffering from skin cancer, and extreme somnolence, lack of mobility and lack of cognition) a number of bipolar outpatients at Inchkeith House were remainingextremely somnolent while receiving ongoing high dosages of Epilim Chrono. I’m not quite sure what has happened to CPN ------since, and I wonder whether she is still working for the NHS. She was controlled by her boss, a likeable consultant psychiatrist who did not however adequately consult the literature.

I have reviewed a limited amount of information from the American psychiatric literature, as well as talking to numerous people with mental health issues. I conclude, in my best estimation, that over 70%of recipients of psychiatric medications for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia suffer from severe physical side effects.

Indeed, the New England Journal of Medicine (2005) report that the anti-psychoticmedications, olanzepine (64%), perphrenazine (75%), quetiapine (82%), risperidone (74%) and ziprasidone (79%) cause intolerable side effects for the high percentages of patients (stated in brackets) who receive these medications. However, these problems are trivialised in the variety of misleading literature that is made available to NHS patients in Scotland.

The more general problem is not only with our over-greedy drugs companies, but also with the patients’ unsympathetic modes of treatment. For example, the possibility of sensible holistic treatments is largely ignored.

The preceding issues, and several case studies, are discussed on my website (see my letterhead, and activate Health Warning and related buttons). I do not think that my terminology ‘physical assault’ is an overstatement.

I am now wondering what to do next, though I will, in all likelihood, continue with my campaign, and finance a vocal group of Edinburgh outpatients called EECAF, (might you be able to fund them too? Advocard is thought to be a waste of space) until I achieve my broad-ranging objectives (i.e. kinder forms and modes of treatment for the long-suffering patients, and an end to the current highly-unreasonable NHS culture on these extremely serious social issues)

Any advice from government officials outside the NHS would be welcome. I personally think that five local leading lights (------) merit outside investigation regarding their generally over-protective policies (one of them also organized ‘Alexander’’s devastating punishment injections with flumenpixol), though I certainly wouldn’t mention this on my website.

I do not wish to take my personal case to the Ombudsman, since the ‘gold medal’ is an apology and a vague promise that it won’t happen again. I therefore prefer to address the general social issues, and to fight the cause on behalf of all mentally disabled NHS patients in Mid-Lothian. I also wonder whether the treatment of alleged murderers in the Orchard Clinic (Dr. ------) should be reviewed.

Thank you for your consideration. Would you kindly acknowledge receipt of this letter?

Yours sincerely,

Thomas Hoskyns Leonard

Retired Professor of Statistics, Universities of Wisconsin-Madison and Edinburgh