Easy As Falling Off A Bike pt 592.

Printer-friendly version
       
Working Dogsbodies
(aka Bike)
Part 592
by Angharad
       
Snowflake_300h.jpg

Trish was reading to me and doing very well when Dr Edwards’ door opened. She waved to us and said, “Do come through,” I watched as Trish put the book carefully back on the shelf. She reached for my hand and together we walked into Dr Edwards’ room.

“Good afternoon, now is it Mrs Watts or Lady Cameron?”

“As Trish’s name is also Watts, I’ll stick with Watts here.”

“Very well. Tell me, was it necessary to threaten my receptionist.”

“It was either that or offer to send her to charm school.”

“Perhaps you could go with her?” she threw back at me.

“I believe with the three of us we could get party rates.” This woman was not going to push me around, no matter who she thought she was.

“Yes, very quick. However, I did a computer scan of patient’s records, you came here about a year or so ago to have some growth removed. I believe you called him Charlie. I also know Dr Thomas very well.”

“Do you mind if I examine your medical records? As I’m not the patient here, I believe you are guilty of some form of misconduct. I have a very good lawyer, specialises in medical jurisprudence–especially misconduct.”

“So do you honestly think you can threaten me, Catherine Watts?”

“I’m not threatening, you or anyone.”

“Aren’t you? Telling me about your lawyer, isn’t that veiled threats?”

“Isn’t looking into medical records of people who aren’t your patients, malpractice?”

“You prove it.”

“There’ll be a trace to your computer.”

“Will there? Not if I used a neutral one with someone else’s password.”

“Very clever. Okay, do we call a truce and see what we can do to help this young lady?”

“Why should I want a truce? I have enough evidence to prove you are unfit as a foster mother.”

“On what grounds?”

“Failing to tell the authorities about your own history.”

“They know, as does the judge who allocated both children to me.”

“What about the attempted suicide?”

“What about it? “

“Well, it could show you are mentally unstable.”

“Like you?” I threw back at her.

“Yes but unlike me, you don’t have a recognised qualification to diagnose and pronounce someone as unfit.”

“So let me understand this correctly, you are now threatening me to do whatever you want, on the grounds you’ll pronounce me as mentally unfit to look after two children, if I don’t?”

“In a word, yes.”

“That is definitely misconduct.”

“You prove it,” she said laughing. She looked at Trish, “You look ridiculous in those clothes you silly little boy.”

Trish looked at me and burst into tears. She threw herself against me and hugged me. I put my good arm around her. “Don’t worry, Trish, this old bag won’t ever hurt you again. Come on we’re leaving.”

“Sit down, Ms Watts.”

“Go and take a running jump, you old witch.”

“You talk very tough for someone with only one arm, and not a leg to stand on.”

“Yes, only one arm, a strong sense of morality, a deep love for my two kids and other members of my family, and a mobile phone.”

“A mobile phone? What’s that got to do with anything? Who ya gonna call, the Ghostbusters?” she mocked me.

“You obviously don’t use one often, then?”

“I make calls and the odd text, why?” she was puzzled now.

“Mine also makes voice recordings, up to half an hour. I have the whole conversation on tape. My lawyer will be very pleased to listen to it.”

“You don’t expect me to believe you, do you?”

“Quite honestly, I don’t give a toss if you do or not. I’m going to terminate your career. I suspect the Royal College of Psychiatrists and the General Medical Council, will also enjoy listening to it. You aren’t fit to practice. Good day.”

I steered Trish towards the door when I felt Dr Edwards standing just behind me. Trish was through the door as the incensed shrink swung at me. I ducked but she caught me on the back and I tumbled into the waiting room, “Give me that phone, you bitch.”

The few people who were present were horrified, and worse still when the doctor kicked my fallen body. “Mummy,” screamed Trish, and a man intervened and dragged her away from me. The police were called and Simon and Meems came to see where we were.

The doctor was interviewed by the police and she tried to lie her way out of things. I played my phone’s recording and Simon called our solicitor. He was there to ask that the phone be sealed as evidence, and that a transcript of the conversation be made available to us for further probable actions.

My shoulder ached abominably, I had grazes on my knees and face and Trish was traumatised. Dr Rose was summoned and he comforted her, prescribing a sedative for a few nights. He was suitably shocked by his colleague’s behaviour. I was checked over in Casualty, and thankfully, it was all surface damage.

“Dr Rose can you check who accessed my records last?”

He called the main IT office and it seemed it was he. “I’ve never looked at your records,” he protested.

“I know, but she did and used your passwords. I’d change them if I were you.”

“I will when I get back to my room. This whole business has completely shocked me. I’m sorry, I assumed she was safe to work with Trish and you.”

“She was very lucky.”

“How?”

“If Simon had come in two or three minutes earlier, she’d have been in ICU now, or the mortuary.”

“Oh, I see.”

“He may seem totally urbane and laid-back, but if anything threatens me or the kids, he goes berserk. He did it once with a group of youths who were tormenting me.”

“I see,” he nodded, “in which case she may well have been very fortunate.”

05Dolce_Red_l_0.jpg

up
140 users have voted.
If you liked this post, you can leave a comment and/or a kudos! Click the "Thumbs Up!" button above to leave a Kudos

Comments

I see Cathy is becoming quite clever...

Puddintane's picture

Hardly anyone thinks of cell phones as concealable (and readily deniable, since it may have been switched on "accidentally") "wires" even in these modern times.

Puddin'

-

Cheers,

Puddin'

A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style

"Dr." Edwards Is In For It Now

jengrl's picture

Dr. Edwards has definitely had it now. Her career is well done on the barby. The whole list of charges are going to follow her everywhere and guarantee that she will not be able to "shrink" anyone else's heads. I wonder if she has been conspiring with the screwed up Social Workers that tried to cause trouble? It was very smart of Cathy to use her phone to record the incident. Moral of the story, "Don't mess with Cathy Watts"

PICT0013_1_0.jpg

A very Tricky-Cyclist, methinks…

…who definitely does not deserve to be in practice. She must have more hang-ups than the dottiest of the dotty; it must have come from mixing with them so long. As for the surreptitious accessing of the medical records of somebody who is not your patient by using another doctor's password, that is misconduct of the worst type and the cow deserves to be struck off. I can only say how thankful I am that we have never encountered such a misfit in our dealings with various psychiatrists.

This is all hassle that Cathy can do without and such a traumatic experience could be a real setback for Trish's, up-to-now, excellent progress. Thank goodness Cathy had the presence of mind to record everything on her mobile. Useful things, mobiles

A very thought-provoking chapter.

Hilary

Easy As Falling…

…out with a shrink. Dr Felicity Edwards is not well named. According to the OED Felicity is defined as extreme happiness, a cause of happiness, or a fortunate trait. Yes, our Dr Fliss is definitely not named appropriately and she is certainly not a fortunate trait! Is this, I wonder, the way she treats all her patients? And if so, how has she got away with it for so long? She really ought to be locked up in the loony-bin herself.

Smart thinking on Cathy's part to record the confrontation—certainly it can only be classed as that—on her mobile.

This episode must open the gate to further excitement to come.

A good one, Ang.

Gabi.

Gabi.


“It is hard for a woman to define her feelings in language which is chiefly made by men to express theirs.” Thomas Hardy—Far from the Madding Crowd.

What's this going to do to Trish?

1. she was hassled and disturbed by the doctor.
2. she;s a sharp cookie? Will she make the connection about Charlie?
3. She did see her mommy win the battle with the ogress, however.
4. How badly was Cathy's injured should hurt this time?

It’s not given to anyone to have no regrets; only to decide, through the choices we make, which regrets we’ll have,
David Weber – In Fury Born

Holly

It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice.

Holly

I suspect that trish will be a bit traumatized

and her treatment will be that much more for the doctor to pay for (or is it covered under the UK medical)? Trish is very sharp. Suspect Cathy will be getting some interesting questions soon. And hope that Cathy and Simon both get a huge collection of huges from Trish and hope that they return them in kind.

Does anyone else recall Cathy having used the phone trick before? Or maybe I'm thinking of another story. Makes me think about carrying a concealed recorder around. Of course it would probably end up being used against me somehow.

Recording

Cathy has used her phone like this at least 3 times so far as I can recall without backchecking. Could be a couple more.

IT savvy ... NOT

as far as Dr Rose is concerned. How did she get his passwords and how come a Doctor can be so naive enough to believe people will not abuse that kind of privilege ?

I don't even trust my own partner with my password.

*shakes head*

Kim

Dr Rose has a mole in the office and is a TWIT!

Patented John in Wauwatosa rant and rave to follow.

P S, I really liked this chapter, Ang.

* * * * *

to be that lax with the records says our doctor needs a couse in record security yesterday and to replace all the staff in the office, they are untrustworthy. PLUS the psycho shrink knew of Cathy’s SRS and broken shoulder AND attacted her thinking it would be weak and easy? Something is very wrong here.

Um are shrinks in the UK like those in the US from *institutes* and thus are of dubious quality – IE who certifies the *institutes* and what standards are there? -- as opposed to psychiatric doctors who are medical doctors first then are taught psychiatry in universities or hospitals? Institute shrinks potentially have all the credentials of a fortune teller. I'm sure there are some fine, carring ones out there but the whole way they are taught and licenced is frought with peril. This woman sounds like a mail-order shrink who got her job using connections in Social Services. How many people has this quack hurt?. Okay I am exaggerating but she sure is unqualified to practice anything except hatred.

I suspect Social Services tipped her off. I also suspect she will get a lot of sex in the next ten to twenty in prison. This is a woman, and I use the term lightly, that deserves to be assaulted by her fellow inmates and guards

Loosing her license is not enough, she assaulted two people -- the verbal abuse of Trish is assault. Then she phsycally attacked a wounded person knowing they were wounded and knowing both she and Trish were TG after insulting both about it. In the US that is a hate crime and an aggravating circumstance in sentencing. That she accessed medical records that were not in her privilege to access is theft, violation of privacy and a few other things. Who helped her? If she doesn’t spill the beans on her coconspirators and completely she deserves prison rape and she will get is being seen as coming from privilege. Sjhe will not be well liked in prison.

Henry will be livid, Simon will want to kill. Maybe Stella will snap out of it or is she and Pudding at risk from these morons? Then there is the woman she saved form drowning and her high muckity-muck peerage husband. They will learn of this and be aghast. Social Services or some of the slime infesting it have gone too far and jail time is overdue. Firings and fines are too little too late. Who else have they *buggered* previously who wasn’t a scrappy fighter like Cathy?

Very disturbing and well written chapter, Ang. Heroine bashing with the best of them.

John in Wauwatosa

John in Wauwatosa

Heart-Pounding Stuff!

Wow. That really was a disturbing scene. It really got the adrenaline going. Very effective, but a little too much excitement. I've got to stop empathizing to that degree...

Warning to UK residents

Angharad's latest tale actually points out a real danger in the UK. The British government (which has a track record in building poorly designed IT systems) has been spending billions on the "NHS spine" to make your medical data available to every Tom, Dick and Harriet. This system will allow over two million people (including many outside the medical profession) access to your complete records. Cathy's incident has already occurred in the UK, except it wouldn't be only the shrink who could get her hands on the records, but also the social worker, the police, the job centre, ...

You can ask your GP to withhold part of your records, but the latest news says that the government is intending to close this loophole. A campaign against this creeping Orwellian nightmare, The Big Opt Out, has a form letter on the web which you can send to your GP requesting that your records are withheld http://www.thebigoptout.com/optoutletter

(I know that there are a few cases, like violent allergic reactions where a system would offer benefits, but data like a meeting with a psychiatrist should not be available to all and sundry. My GP put me onto the opt-out letter, and encourages all her patients to opt out.)

This Is One Of The Best Yet!

I wonder what happens at Bike 6000 which comes up very soon. Thank you Angharad and Bonzi for such a great story.

    Stanman
May Your Light Forever Shine
    Stanman
May Your Light Forever Shine

I think you mean

Angharad's picture

600 Stan, dunno if I can spin it out for another 5,400 episodes (unless it already feels like 6000!)

Angharad

Angharad

There! I told you!

There, I told you.

This was exactly the same attitude I suffered from 1952 until 1958 from the so called psychiatrists who were supposedly treating my transvestism.

I'm not surprised that these people fail to move on. despite all the wonderful letters they have behind their names they still bring their childhood, - parentally induced -, prejudices to bear when making there so called skilled and professional medical assesments. Only those who are on the inside looking out can empathise with others from the trans community.
Psychiatrists are a bloody pain as are paediatricians!

Beverly.

Like I said,

Unprofessional. Angharad, you must have met some doozies in your time. This was just plain stupid of this woman.

Confrontational Psychiatrists

Rhona McCloud's picture

As a reassurance to those under assessment; there are psychiatrists who use confrontation as a technique. It doesn't necessarily mean they are against you indeed you may benefit by showing resilience and gender appropriate behaviour without falling apart

My guess is this "Dr Edwards" will prove to be a medically unqualified fraudster

Rhona McCloud

Super Bitch meet SuperWoman

Got it on tape that will have her flipping burgers, where she belongs. Now the good part, assault and battery with a dangerous object, a shod foot. And this in front of witnesses. Even I could prosecute this one and win ! The assaulted party also has a broken Clavicle got from saving a new mother from commiting suicide.
Beautiful Ang, Dr Fliss must be someone you know of ?

Cefin