Dozens of leading professionals just slammed Theresa May’s controversial new mental health ‘guru’

I don't know any of the signatories.

https://www.thecanary.co/discovery/...-controversial-new-mental-health-guru-letter/


PS/ I'll ask to put this thread in the psychosocial news when it's open.

 

I only recognised one, maybe two names. I would not say I know them. I noticed that quite a few down the list are Unite union officials - nothing wrong in union involvement. I felt it was odd that I didn't see any ME organisations.

 

Yeah my initial reaction was they probably could have gotten a lot more signatures. But, then I remembered the lack of British signatures on David Tullers open letters, and I think this is a big positive that so many British are willing to publicly go against SW.

 

I think it is interesting to see a letter with names like this representing an entirely different professional spectrum from the one Tuller raised. It is heartening to think that the impact of poor science and policy is appreciated on a wider scale.

 

What a superb summing up. SW's shenanigans straight to the PMs desk. And lots of psycho-etc signatories.

 

It's also heartening to think that so many people outside the world of ME advocacy hold Sir Simon in such low regard.

I would guess they deliberately didn't approach any ME organisations, so that Wessely couldn't resort to his usual 'militant patients' defence.

 

Is it a usual thing to get that type of letter in the UK against the nomination of someone, or is it exceptional?

 

As far as I'm aware it's pretty exceptional. It will help that the Tories are seen as quite weak at the moment, so that would encourage people to complain about him, thinking that there is a greater chance of it having an effect.

I don't expect him to be replaced, he fits right in with the Tories war on the sick and disabled, but it's nice to see that there are people outside the ME world who see him for what he is and are prepared to go public with it.

 

And maybe the key target is whoever is prime minister next, who will have the option to replace people associated with May's failings. If it is Mr Corbyn then to have been tipped the wink that all is not as it seems in the psychiatry world may be important.

 

Best hope for UK patients is to get Corbyn Labour onside, or at least neutral and open minded.

No guarantee. But if the Tories stay in power, then it is guaranteed that we will just get more of the same from them and Sir Svengali.

Like all successful reform movements, we need politically powerful allies.

 

Here is the direct link to the blog that is hosting the letter, https://stevetopple.wordpress.com/2...ther-of-theresa-mays-government-appointments/, it also show's the whole list of signatories - the only one I recognise is Simon Duffy of the Centre for Welfare Reform, who has been supportive of our cause for a while.

 

https://twitter.com/Shrink_at_Large/status/920952184619053056

Screenshot as we cannot yet embed tweets:

 

A quick shrug of my shoulders. I would not have seen this if you had not pointed it out. I have no idea how many others I have missed. Some days I see letters with multiple signatories on The Times letter page, if I get to look at it. Usually I just scan the headings there and mostly read letters on subjects that already interest me.

 

Interesting as I guess to have gone to the effort to sign this these people must have pretty strong reasons to object to SW. Some of these people are potential allies I guess, or allies already though I do not know most of them.

I think SW's response is interesting. He says he supports the current NICE guidelines. Regarding the review he says that he will "take due note" if they change. Not quite the same thing is it.

 

He's basically an oily bar steward, highly practised at avoiding being pinned down by anything so demeaning as good science, ethics, or any real regard for people other than himself. I think however he is slowly painting himself into a corner. Someone like him must rub an awful lot of people up the wrong way, as he treads all over them on his climb to the top. Some of them just may be feeling a bit more enabled now.

 

I have no doubt that when it is safe(ish) to do so, there will be a lot more stories coming out about the dark side of Wessely, White, Crawley, etc.