Mr Ben Cowburn, Cornwall Coroner's Inquest, Dr Peter Jefferys evidence and the trail of suicides

    Updated 30-3-2014

 

Dr Emma Carlyon, Cornwall Coroner, conducted inquest into the death by suicide of Mr Ben Cowburn. Court proceedings have been reported widely in the press and on the Internet drawing criticism from Conservative MP Priti Patel because of the Coroner's decision not to disclose the name of a man whose conduct towards Mr Ben Cowburn was at least questioned by some. However, The Needle blog exposed the name here:
http://theneedleblog.wordpress.com/2014/03/24/ben-cowburn-and-the-x-factor/
It was inevitable that bloggers would investigate and expose court secrecy. The Needle has a mission statement:
 A needle can lance a boil or it can burst a balloon, in the hands of a pathologist it can draw blood, and in the hands of a doctor it can vaccinate a child.

Mr Ben Cowburn made numerous pleas for help to health professionals and law enforcement agents to whom he reported that he was raped. When questioned by coroner about allegations of rape a police officer replied:
He said he had not been, he agreed to them as he felt pressured to do the things. 
Well, police got it wrong, it seems. In male dominated culture men do not see themselves as rape victims in general. There is a language of communication that police appear to struggle with. A good expert in psychiatry or psychology in the field of male rape/sexual abuse would have helped the court, but did the court or police ask for it? Did they want it at all?

 Similarly, there are allegations from family of the victim that his treating psychiatrist (not Dr Peter Jefferys) described Mr Ben Cowburn as a drama queen. Ouch! Psychiatrist has denied describing the victim as melodramatic. There are psychiatrists who are unwilling to accept that there is abuse and rape of men (as children and as adults). Afterall, it could happen to them and that is an unpleasant thought they run away from. Sometimes, in broad daylight a man is bundled into a van by a couple of men and raped. The next thing they do throw him out and the victim tries to kill himself by walking in front of a bus. This is a true story. Interestingly, one of Mr Ben Cowburn's suicide attempts was to walk into traffic.

The coroner, Dr Emma Carlyon, agreed to hear evidence from Dr Peter Jefferys (photo on the right above), a retired Old Age Psychiatrist, who is not an expert in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry or Post-traumatic Stress Disorder or male rape. Mr Ben Cowburn was only 18 when he died and had diagnosis of Post-traumatic stress disorder. The Coroner's office was informed of Dr Peter Jefferys inappropriateness as an expert witness in this case and even in any case considering his known lack of integrity from other cases.
Dr Jefferys was quoted as saying to the Coroner:

“The ability of a young man to deal with life experiences they regret and the mistakes you make in life can be severely compromised if at the same time you suffer from a major depressive illness or struggle with adolescent issues. “It can push you from saying, gosh, I should not have done that, into being tormented by it and unable to share it for months, years or decades.”

Read more: http://www.westbriton.co.uk/Failures-care-suicide-teenager-Ben-Cowburn-18/story-20839331-detail/story.html#ixzz2x0jTUaSk

Since when has sexual assault(s)/sexual abuse been a regrettable life experience? And how can Dr Jefferys at the same time accept diagnosis of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder in this man?

Dr Peter Jefferys worked as a Medical Director at Northwick Park Hospital in Harrow, Middlesex, when Dr Helen Bright, Consultant Psychiatrist and pioneer in the treatment of adults who suffered abuse as children reported to him that Harrow Social Services employed a Catholic nun, wearing her religious uniform (in psychiatry uniforms are not worn as it forms a barrier to trust, leading to poor compliance with treatment, more violence and self-harm by patients) as their social worker to work with mentally ill some of whom could have suffered abuse at the hands of clergy. Instead of dealing appropriately with the matter Dr Jefferys dismissed Dr Bright, and subjected her to post-employment victimization (sending false complaints to GMC) in order to cover up for suicides under his watch. After he dismissed Dr Bright he did not replace her immediately and some of Dr Bright's patients died by suicide. From no deaths record under care of Dr Bright now there were deaths under his watch and he made a cunning plan to start working for the regulator, the GMC.

In the years before nun was employed, the suicides in Harrow, on average, were 15.2 per year, during the four years Harrow had nun as a social worker 17.5 on average and after she left it went down to 15.2 suicides per year.

Survivors Network of those Abuse by Priests (SNAP) have 10,000 members and are based in USA. They gave evidence to UN in Geneva at the hearing into Holy See's compliance with Children's Charter recently. SNAP wrote to Dr Helen Bright to say that they agree religious uniforms should not be worn in mental health. It is detrimental to mental health of sex abuse victims, not something that Dr Peter Jefferys would ever be bothered about. Instead, he engaged in conspiracy with others including Professor David Jolley, another Old Age psychiatrist to do Dr Bright in. Dr Bright conducted research on Prof. David Jolley's patch in Wolverhampton into how off-putting or approachable do patients find a person dressed in religious uniform or casual dress (actors photographed for questionnaires). Professor David Jolley joined Dr Jefferys in complaining that Dr Bright conducted her research without his permission. GMC found Dr Bright guilty of serious professional misconduct for conducting ethical research, but contrary to old boys network approval. This research by Dr Bright has been regarded as impressive by international scientific community and was the first research in the world into religious uniforms in mental health setting. Professor Jolley's integrity matches that of Dr Jefferys.

Hospitals are liable when patients commit suicides under their watch. Dr Jefferys, of course, knows that. He was also head of audit and reported on suicides in the psychiatric unit at Northwick Park Hospital. It appears he was chosen for the job in Cornwall Coroner's case on Mr Ben Cowburn on the basis of his corruptibility.

In order to barricade himself against any possible threat to his registration as a doctor from the medical regulator, The General Medical Council, he became their Fitness to Practice Panelist. This was a brilliant strategy. But that was not enough to stop his fears and never will be. He also became involved in disciplinary matters at the Social Care Council (who regulate the nun, social worker) and other regulators (including Bar Council); at one count being involved in the regulation of eighteen professions!

Despite all these precautionary measures he has reputation as a man of no integrity and as a hired gun as stated by solicitor Yvonne Hossack (another of his victims) to the General Medical Council. After she complained about him to GMC he retaliated against her by complaining about her to Solicitors Regulation Authority who had as Chief Executive ex GMC man. His allegations against his instructing solicitor were false. He claimed she disclosed confidential information to GMC against the rules of her profession in her complaint against him. The confidential information was the psychiatric reports he wrote which Ms Hossack sent in as evidence against him. Of course, GMC needs the names of the patients so that complaints could be investigated, something he always knew. But GMC was already corrupted by him and they refused to investigate him. Those who want to read those psychiatric reports written by Dr Peter Jefferys can do so as these are available in redacted format following a request to Law Society under Freedom of Information Act 2000 by Dr Helen Bright. Ms Hossack was right: Dr Peter Jefferys has no integrity. He wrote one thing for her in his reports but when pressed by Bristol Council solicitors to answer some questions he changed his opinion dramatically. Curiously, while complaining about the breach of confidentiality he wrote a psychiatric court report about several patients (eight) giving their names in one report. Normally one would expect patients to read the reports in order for facts to be corrected if necessary. So, is each patient meant to read confidential information about seven others? Or are they not important enough to have individual reports written on each? Or does Dr Jefferys think he must not be ever corrected? Or slighted in any way?

Dr Peter Jefferys made false allegations of rape against a professor of mathematics who was devoted to his partner, a sufferer of multiple sclerosis. When she was admitted to a nursing home, a visiting GP prescribed her a drug known to have given her skin blisters as a side effect in the past. Her partner, professor of mathematics complained about it to the prescribing doctor and manager of the nursing home and in no time, in retaliation, allegations were made that he raped his partner by nursing home staff. In his expert witness report on this woman to the court Dr Jefferys recommended the couple were only to meet under observations despite woman's denials that she ever made any allegations of rape. In additions there were false allegations that he was aggressive. Interestingly, Dr Jefferys report omits completely the question of rape being addressed by him to the woman whom he was examining for the court and in which he recommended observation of the couple who were to meet in the communal area only. Professor has been an obstacle to the council seizing her property to pay for nursing home fees as he lived in the apartment and they could not just throw him out but were doing everything they could to make him get fed up and leave. The property was left to him in her will too. Dr Jefferys was simply a hired gun for the case as he appears to be in the case of Mr Ben Cowburn.

The local authority where this professor lives could have spent a lot of money on litigation against him (over £500,000), an innocent man to cover up for their criminal staff. At one point Local Authority employed carers to aid professor's partner at home. One stole her credit card. Local Authority blamed professor and took his power of attorney from him via Court of Protection. A shop detective caught the thief as she was trying to use the credit card. Police were called. But a storm of false allegations against prof. followed and now litigation is by prof. to get damages paid to him for what he suffered for many years after the Court of Protection found no allegations of rape or theft against him were ever true.
  GMC received a complaint about Dr Jefferys by this professor, but Dr Peter Jefferys is their man to whom they probably owe a lot as he sat at over 100 GMC disciplinary proceedings. GMC does not go after their henchman nor are they keen on public interest in this case.                                                           

Dr Helen Bright worked at Longreach Hospital in Redrouth too where false allegations were made against her by the Trust staff in 2004. At that time she was a locum Consultant Psychaitrist in Old Age Psychiatry. Staff did not want old people on their ward, just adults up to age 65. Mr Ben Cowburn would be unwelcome as a young person in such an atmosphere of ageism. In Dr Bright's case nursing staff even went as far as discharging her most ill elderly patient who could not even walk or feed herself . This was done without consulting Dr Bright. No wonder there were false allegations against her as means of self-protection when patient's husband, a retired policeman, complained to trust managers about his wife's improper discharge and not against Dr Bright whom he thanked for her care of his wife. While Dr Bright managed to defend herself against these false allegations before the General Medical Council the unleashing of mobbing was spread to other NHS trusts via NCAS, the NHS jungle drum. by the Medical Director of mental health trust in Cornwall (He run away to another NHS trust since the events). NCAS collect information from anyone, any NHS trust, any gossip and even invent false allegations themselves against doctors who are truthfully and rightly critical of NHS practice.  They gave advice that Dr Bright who had done no harm to anyone should be reported to the GMC by all NHS trusts who contacted them when they heard in 2004 that GMC found Dr Helen Bright guilty of serious professional misconduct in 2003 following Dr Peter Jefferys writing to GMC and after that becoming their Fitness to Practice Panellist. The GMC do not see any conflict of interests when it is on their agenda to get rid of ethnic minority doctors of which Dr Bright is certainly one. The fitness to practice hearing in 2003 at GMC resulted in verbal reprimand and huge reputation damage to Dr Bright. She still could work, there were no conditions on her practice. In 2004 the final, massive, furious mobbing attack started in Cornwall, spread via NCAS faulty advice to two other NHS trusts and resulted yet again in GMC's Fitness to Practise hearings with Dr Jefferys acquaintances from GMC judging Dr Bright as well as an undeclared preacher, Dr Gwen Adshead. Doctors' licence used to be regulated by bishops in England but now clergy can and do work at GMC. They are useful to the nasty lot as they do see any justified anger as sin, not that they use such language. They do know better than that. Instead the language used is that of pseudo psychology: anger management problems, poor conflict resolution, poor team working etc. Dr Helen Bright ended as a locum with 16 conditions on her practice and could never find work again as the result of faulty GMC proceedings. Eventually she was erased from the medical register by the review  panel which again had a religious worker on it. The same formula was used by GMC consistently: get the religious force in to teach Dr Helen Bright a lesson she will never forget. Women should know their place and so should children: to serve mens desires. Dr Helen Bright was erased from medical register and Dr Jefferys has a sense of obligation to Cornwall mental health trust: what he did not manage to complete they did. While it is true that at one point Dr Bright did appeal to the High Court against conditions imposed on her practice by GMC the judge's finding that Dr Bright is a good, hard working and conscientious doctor is wortless as the judge left all the conditions there on her registration. A worthless appeal. Constructive erasures work, everyone knows that. Psychiatry is a shortage specialty and  more people died unnecessarily as the result of how Dr Bright was treated by Dr Jefferys. Dr Bright could have saved many lives were it not for the abuse of power. GMC rules allow them to abuse their power any time they like because one can never appeal against panel decisions when inappropriate appointments of panelists take place. Dr Gwen Adshead when she judged Dr Bright was no longer their panelist as her term expired before. Nobody cares about such little things. The Privy Council agreed to such rules.

The Coroner's Court inquest concluded on 26-3-2014 with jury giving open verdict with failures in care. Coroner made no recommendations to the NHS Trust because she was satisfied with the changes they made since the event of the tragic death. A new £5 million unit is planned for child and adolescent care on Longreach Hospital site. The charity trust set up by Mr Ben Cowburn's parents are working with NHS.