1984 -Mental Health Act used to detain people who expose Abuse of Government Power

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Dear LS Palmer

Your request for information reference IR201101488

Thank you for your email. I apologise for the delay in acknowledging.

We will be dealing with your request in line with the Freedom of
Information (Scotland) Act 2002. The Act states that we must reply to you
within 20 working days of us receiving your request. This means we will
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Yours sincerely

Helen Littlemore

Freedom of Information/Data Protection Officer

Scottish Public Services Ombudsman

4 Melville Street | Edinburgh | EH3 7NS

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Dear LS Palmer

Your requests for information reference IR201101488 and IR201101489

I refer to your emails of 21 July 2011 in which you ask for information
under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002. For ease of
reference, I have repeated your requests at the end of this email.

Your requests have been processed in line with the Freedom of Information
(Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), and I can now respond as follows.

Where the information you are requesting might be in connection to
specific complaints to the SPSO, I must advise that section 12 of the
Scottish Public Services Ombudsman Act 2002 requires that investigations
by the Ombudsman must be conducted in private, section 15 prohibits the
Ombudsman from identifying any person, and section 19 specifically
prohibits the Ombudsman from releasing information obtained in respect of
a complaint, except for the purposes specified in the Act. Releasing
complaint information under FOISA is not one of those purposes.

There are annual statistics for complaints received at the SPSO by subject
and authority, and determined by sector, outcome and authority available
on our website at [1]www.spso.org.uk/statistics. These do not identify
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you have requested. The statistics on our website detail the subjects we
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our published reports on our website at [2]www.spso.org.uk/our-findings.
It might be helpful to explain that the SPSO looks into complaints where a
member of the public claims to have suffered injustice or hardship as a
result of maladministration or service failure, and that we cannot look at
the merits of a decision. The SPSO would not look at authorising
detention of someone under the Mental Health Act.

In respect of your request IR201101488, parts 3, 4 and 5, the SPSO does
not have this information for release under FOISA and it may be more
appropriate to direct your requests to the organisations directly. Please
note, the Care Quality Commission, and Parliamentary and Health Service
Ombudsman are English bodies and are unlikely to be able to comment on
mental health legislation and procedures in Scotland. It may also be more
appropriate to direct your second request IR201101489 to Aberdeen City
Council directly. For the reasons detailed above, if the SPSO held this
information in connection with a complaint, we would be unable to release
this under FOISA. Much of the information would also constitute personal
data, which is exempt from release under FOISA.

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aspect of the handling of your requests that you are unhappy with. Should
you wish to request a review, please address your request to Niki Maclean,
Director of Corporate Services, Scottish Public Services Ombudsman, 4
Melville Street, Edinburgh, EH3 7NS, or email [3][Scottish Public Services Ombudsman request email].

YOUR RIGHT OF APPEAL

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Commissioner's contact details are as follows:

The Scottish Information Commissioner

Kinburn Castle

Doubledykes Road

St Andrews

KY16 9DS

Email: [4][email address]

Tel: 01334 464610

Yours sincerely,

Helen Littlemore

Freedom of Information/Data Protection Officer

[5]Home

Scottish Public Services Ombudsman

4 Melville Street | Edinburgh | EH3 7NS

T: 0800 377 7330 F: 0800 377 7331

Email: [6][Scottish Public Services Ombudsman request email]

Web: [7]www.spso.org.uk

Request IR201101488. Subject: Freedom of Information request - 1984
-Mental Health Act used to detain people who expose Abuse of Government
Power

1. Please could you tell me how many complaints you have received
related to the part the following people have played in authorising the
detention of someone under s24 of the Mental Health (Scotland) Act 1984

General Practitioners:

DR S J Wilson and Dr J M Maitland of Rosemount Medical Group, 1 View
Terrace, Aberdeen, AB25 2RS

Dr Valerie Morris of 327 Great Western Road, Aberdeen

Aberdeen City Council, Social Services Department. Johnstone House, Rose
Street, Aberdeen

Catherine Mason / Sarah Buchanan - Senior Social Worker

Sylvia Penman - Mental Health Officer

Isabel Dewer - Social Work Manager

From Royal Cornhill Hospital, Cornhill Road, Aberdeen, AB25 2ZH

Isobel Ewan CPN

Angie Wood CPN

Dr Alistair Palin

Dr M Leonie Sweeney

Dr Elizabeth Henderson

Dr Talika Singh

Dr John Callender

Jack Stewart - General Manager

Kevin Dawson - Service Manager

Bon Accord Hostel - Bon Accord Street, Aberdeen

Susan Dyce

Keith Nunn

2. Please could you state how many complaints you have received
relating to the following professional's conduct of autopsy examinations

James Henderson Kerr Grieve

Dawn Marie Chalmers

3. Please provide the full complaints procedure and time limits to
be followed where

a) someone believes they have unlawfully been detained under the
Mental Health Act and

b) someone who believes a proper investigation has not been made into
the death of someone to whom they are next of kin.

4. Please could you outline the roles and procedures of the
following bodies related to emergency detention under the Mental Health
Act

a) Mental Welfare Commission.

b) Care Quality Commission.

c) Parliamentary Health Service Ombudsman

5. Please could you provide information of the steps required for a
patient to be on a 'Care Plan' for Mental Health reasons and therefore be
at risk of further detention into a Mental Health Institution for failure
to follow the 'Care Plan'

Request IR201101489. Subject: Freedom of Information request - Sylvia
Penman - Abuse of Power to assist confirmed Sex Offenders

Sylvia Penman was working as a Social Worker for Aberdeen City Council in
2000. On 5 September 2000 Sylvia Penman gave consent to the detention of
Ann Mackie under section 24 of the Mental Health Scotland Act 1984. Sylvia
Penman was accompanied by Dr Valerie Morris whom Anne Mackie claims she
had only met on one occasion in order to examine a broken finger which was
broken as a result of domestic violence by Dennis Mackie in May of the
same year.

Ann Mackie claims she had never met Sylvia Penman prior to Sylvia Penman
authorising that she is detained under section 24 of the Mental Health
(Scotland) Act 1984.

Please could you state:

1. When and where did Sylvia Penman become familiar with Anne Mackie
or her mental health prior to her detention.

2. What form did any examination/assessment take and how many times
did Sylvia Penman see Anne Mackie or attempt to see her?

3. What mental illness / Mental disorder had Anne Mackie been
diagonosed with prior to Sylivia Penman making applications under s117 of
the Mental Health (Scotland) Act?

4. What information did Sylvia Penman rely upon to reach her
assessment that Anne Mackie was suffering from a disorder. In particular,
what did she witness and what information was hearsay.

5. What attempts were made to encourage Anne Mackie to receive
treatment on a voluntary basis

6. In what way was Anne Mackie's safety at risk at the time Sylvia
Penman recommended her detention.

7. In what way was the safety of others at risk at the time Sylvia
Penman recommended Anne Mackie's detention.

8. What risks were considered when deciding not to make an
application under Section 18 of the Mental Health (Scotland) Act and what
process did she use to evaluate the risks

9. How did Sylvia Penman inform Anne Mackie that she was consenting
to her detention?

10. What steps did Sylvia Penman take to seek consent from any of Anne
Mackie's relatives before detaining her?

11. When was Anne Mackie's relative informed of her detention and by
whom?

12. What steps did you take to ensure that Dr Valerie Morris of 327
Great Western Road Aberdeen, who authorised Anne Mackie's detention had
the required knowledge of her mental health to give the consent. How many
times had she met with Anne Mackie prior to arriving at her address with
Sylvia Penman on the occasion that she was detained?

13. Please could you tell me who informed the Mental Welfare Commission
of Anne Mackie's detention and which organisation they worked for at the
time.

14. Please could you state who gave their consent to Anne Mackie being
administered with an injection of 5mg of Droperidol and 2mg of Lorazepam?

15. What serious danger to herself or others is suggested would have
resulted if Anne Mackie had not been injected with Droperidol and
Lorazepam against her will?

16. What information did Social Services pass to the police, 3 ward
officers and the 3 Police officers prior to arriving Anne Mackie's home
address?

17. Please could you state the names of the ward officers and police
officers attending Anne Mackie's address with Sylvia Penman on 05.09.00

18. What information was given to JP Logan on the application of a
Warrant under s117 of the Mental Health (Scotland) Act 1984?

a. What evidence of a mental disorder was provided

b. What evidence of ill treatment, neglect, loss of control was provided

c. What evidence of lack of self care was provided

d. What sworn information was provided - please supply a copy.

e. What attempts did Sylvia Penman make to assess Anne Mackie prior to
applying for a warrant.

f. What documentation did Sylvia Penman have access to confirming that
Anne Mackie was suffering from a mental illness/disorder prior to applying
for a warrant.

g. How did Sylvia Penman know the address/contact details of Greg Mackie
to whom she delivered Anne Mackie's dogs once Anne Mackie had been
forcibly injected and removed by ambulance to Royal Cornhill Hospital.

h. When were arrangements made to detain Anne Mackie's disabled daughter
into a Local Authority institution.

i. What reasons did Sylvia Penman give to allow contact between Ann
Mackie's disabled daughter and the man she had reported to police had
sexually abused her while she was detained?

j. Who supervised the contact between Dennis Mackie and his disabled
daughter?

k. Please state where records have been sent in relation to the detention
of Ann Mackie's daughter during Ann's detention?

l. Please state what relationship Sylvia Penman's supervisor, Fiona
Mary Palin has with Dr Alistair Palin, who had been attempting to meet
with Anne Mackie with a view to detaining her, without meeting her but
with the knowledge that she had taken her disabled daughter to police to
declare that she had been sexually abused by Dennis Mackie.

Please could you further state when Sylvia Penman ceased to be registered
as a social worker and what disciplinary proceedings were taken against
her before her registration ceased.

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