Mark McAllister
The following is a truthful account of what occurred to the best of my
recollection. All the information was written down within less than an hour.
It is deliberately comprehensive.
Later, he also set up a ridiculous, cretinous, but somewhat sinister subterfuge for me to have a psychiatric assessment with his colleague Alistair Kinniburgh against my express wishes after I had made a complaint about him to the GMC. This is the letter that was sent to me. I received a full confession from Kinniburgh in a later letter.
When I told two nurses (one was Kenneth Dock) in some detail and about his abusive behaviour next day, they showed no surprise and said literally nothing to defend him or suggest they disagreed in any with my appraisal. They appeared to be deliberately disguising their feelings with completely blank expressions. They just sat there in complete silence. A bizarre scenario.
Further, on the 12th, September I related the story to Dr Karen Pope, a GP*. I started to make very unpleasant remarks about Dr McAllister, when she interrupted and asked the psychiatrist's name. When I told her, she raised her eyebrows in a resigned, 'I might have known' gesture. Out of all the local psychiatrists it could have been, she immediately knew who I was talking about. That was before I had completed the first sentence !!
Dr Pope knew him at university and is a friend of his colleague in the IHTT, Dr McAree. She agreed (by strongly nodding her head) with ever horrible detail, once replying 'that's what he's like'. She also agreed that McAllister is a very low quality individual. I think, being Australian, she was shocked to meet someone like that at university.
When I phoned Dykebar hospital later to find out who had made an appointment for me I said 'do you know a horrible, nasty little man by the name of Mark McAllister' ? The woman, a secretary laughed and said 'yes I do'. I said that to test the reaction. I have her name, but I'm obviously not going to reveal it to her managers. I also met a very nice woman who works in the Charleston Centre in Aldi . When I told her what had happened, her eyes disappeared into the back of her head and her face was a picture of silent horror when McAllister's name was mentioned.
I made a complaint to the GMC about Dr McAllister because of the corroborative evidence above. I deeply resent that the NHS put me in a room with this man when it's clear his abusive personality must be very well known.
Timetable
I had an appointment with a GP Dr Craig McColl* on 26thJuly. I had sleep problems, I had an impending DWP benefits interview which was causing e a lot of distress and (possibly nervous) exhaustion. Very hot weather exacerbated my sleep and psoriasis issues. I asked if I could see a psychiatrist in the hope that it might provide a clue to the exhaustion problem which has plagued me. He has been extremely patient and tolerant with me because there is no obvious explanation for the problem.
I only asked to see a psychiatrist because I assumed it was a medical issue, not a mental health problem. If I had a mental health problem I would have asked to see a psychologist.
* Both GPs work at the Greenlaw Practice, Northcroft Medical Centre, Paisley .
The following happened at the Charleston Centre, Paisley.
On Tuesday 20th August, there was an assessment appointment lasting 90 minutes with nurse Diane Jeffrey. That went well. She appeared interested, kind and sympathetic.
On 26th August there was another appointment with Diane Jeffrey and a colleague and a blood test taken. That was friendly and went well. She observed that I was in a much lower state of anxiety than before. That was substantially due to the fact that I attended the DWP assessment on Thursday 22nd August
The assessor told me she had a background in both psychology and psychiatry. She came across as highly capable, intelligent, knowledgeable, perceptive, articulate and civilised adult human being. We agreed that I had a serious problem with susceptibility to stress leading to high levels of anxiety and possibly related periods of exhaustion. That is the basis on which I receive benefits and exactly why I had asked to see a psychiatrist.
I expected to encounter someone similar at the Charleston Centre. Nothing could have been further from the truth. What I met was a cheeky, obnoxious, pernicious and transparently malicious little man by the name of Mark McAllister and that's being polite. Mark is the Glasgow Celtic supporter in the right foreground of this photo which appears to have been taken abroad.
I posed the same questions (about anxiety, exhaustion) to an Indian doctor who was giving a talk on mindfulness in the Buddhist Centre in Ashley Street. I got a beautifully simple explanation from a high quality man inhabiting the precise opposite end of the human quality spectrum from Mark McAllister.
An appointment was made with Dr McAllister for 2nd September, but that was put back to the 9th of September at 3:30. Everything below was written down within an hour of the interview. I was so angry and upset, I went straight home and wrote it down.
I arrived a few minutes early. I told the receptionist. I would be back. I went for a walk . I was perfectly calm and relaxed. I had a happy, friendly and civilised conversation with the extremely nice receptionist, Caroline. In was in an excellent mood. It is important to understand that the primary causes of the original distress, the DWP interview, the heat and the psoriasis had substantially gone. It was also 6-7 weeks since the original appointment with the GP. My periods of exhaustion usually last 4-6 weeks. I had no symptoms of anything at that moment. My medical records at the GP surgery have numerous references to exhaustion and anxiety.
McAllister sported a middle class accent throughout the interview. That is the reason for the exposure and ridicule of his true identity. It was very confusing for because his behaviour was consistently appalling. He must have picked up the accent at university because his Facebook page was the lowest quality I have ever seen. Including a link to a horrible toilet related video which exclaimed 'I am low life, I am proud of it and I want everyone to know'.
This is the video. Not recommended.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyhKZSXt2FM
The toilet video and football related material disappeared after I told a GP, Gavin McColl at the Greenlaw surgery, brother of Craig McColl who told me he was friend of McAllister.
T
Events
Dr McAllister seemed formal, uptight and immediately made me feel ill at ease. He asked me to tell him the problem. It seemed sensible to repeat the successful conversation with the DWP assessor. I said that I told her that I didn't have an official diagnosis, but she had strongly agreed with my assessment (from my deposition) that I had a fragile personality subject to periods of exhaustion. I mentioned Karen Horney's moving away personality type. he hadn't heard of her. I should also mention that I studied psychology at Glasgow University (for a year in 1974) as part of my degree.
I compared the personality type with (Steven) Morissey (the well known singer of the Smiths who's lack of intimate relationships is well known ). He mocked and derided my interest in Morrissey. I said that I had a problem with my mind discounting any positive messages from women, like Morrissey apparently has. I see them, but it doesn't increase my confidence. I have zero sexual / romantic confidence. He didn't understand. He said 'why do you believe women find you attractive' in a sneering tone. It was repeated several times.
This is is Mark McAllister next to my selfie I deliberately took on the same day on a cheap webcam.
This is clearly abusive behaviour in the style of a pet abusing child. I am now seriously hurt and offended.
Around this point he asked me whether I would be happy to take drugs. I replied “if I think you are an extremely intelligent and capable individual, then perhaps, otherwise absolutely not (vocally emphasised). That was sarcasm. In non polite English, that translates to 'absolutely not'. For me, that was an improper question as no issue had arisen that would suggest the prescription of drugs which is why I answered as I did. He was already behaving badly. At this point, I would no more have entered a doctor patient relationship with him than agree to house share with a rattlesnake.
Any decent human being would have stopped right here and addressed the sarcasm (negative evaluation) . He ploughed on.
He asked me what I did with my time. I told him I had created a number of websites recently. That was the plain, simple truth. He said in a sneering tone “are you an expert at that” ? Why do you think you are good at that ? Do other people think you are good at that Again in a derisory, insulting tone. What are they about. ?
I use free, simple templates for web pages, like this one. I am no expert. I said there were two on local history, two about global warming, one is about world famous Guardian journalist/author George Monbiot. He hadn't heard of Monbiot either. This is my Monbiot website. Monbiot writes in The Guardian. You wouldn't expect someone who's interests on Facebook never rise above football to read the Guardian and he was laughing at me.
The general line of abuse was that I had delusions of grandeur and he was ridiculing my pretensions, for example to have sense of humour (I had a Monbiot parody twitter account) . He asked why I thought I was funny. Do other people think you are funny ? Sneering like a demented, teenage boy. That is the behavior I described to the GP and had confirmed.
I told him in my teenage years that I had often been partly reclusive but paradoxically also mixed in pubs like Morrissey (because I had friends who took me with them). This was early 1970s down market hippy culture in a run down pub in Paisley. He looked scornful and contemptuous and demanded to know where this was and what were the names of the people. I told him the name of one of the pubs. I asked why he wanted to know.
He said
"I used to go to that pub. You didn't go to that pub. You didn't know anyone there. I knew everyone in that pub. I didn't see you. I don't believe you. You weren't there. You don't know anyone there". All spoken at high speed like a deranged teenager.
This is very creepy behaviour for a doctor. There is a roughly 20 year age gap between us, it is bizarre for him to claim that he would know anyone I would as he (almost certainly) hadn't even been born at that time. He was probably confused about my age, it happens a lot. I was completely aware he was trying to wind me up, but it was still way beyond pathetic.
Somehow the subject of psychology arose again. I repeated that I didn't believe I had a psychiatric condition. He replied., 'are you sure, you appear very elated to me'. The atmosphere now shifts from the farcical to the potentially sinister. I assumed he was about to imply I was bipolar (of which elation is a required symptom) with the implied corollary of the prescription of drugs which he had previously mentioned. That isn't paranoia, it isn't even suspicion, it is the natural inference any intelligent, (particularly psychology educated) adult would draw from the situation.
This is what the word 'elated' means (medical dictionary). It doesn't mean anything else. Football supporters know what 'elated' means.
Elation - medical dictionary .
"An emotional reaction characterized by euphoria, excitement, extreme
joyfulness, optimism, and self-satisfaction. It is considered to be of
pathologic origin when such a response does not realistically reflect a
person's actual circumstances. Thus an elated mood may be characteristic of
a manic state".
Mosby's Medical Dictionary, 8th edition. © 2009, Elsevier.
I confirmed that meaning with a grown up, intelligent, educated person, Dr Slaven, the senior
partner in my GP practice.
During the previous half hour or so, I had felt abused, upset, hurt, appalled, degraded ,offended, annoyed, bemused, incredulous, angry, disgusted, repelled, contemptuous and angry, but never elated. No honest or sane human being would suggest that I was. Neither was I manic nor hypo manic (other bipolar descriptions) or high, nor have I ever been without an appropriate stimulus. There is nothing in my medical history nor that of my family to suggest it. I was slightly stressed and angry.
I come from a high powered medical family, I worked as a lecturer with a number of PhDs. If I had a mental health problems, they would certainly have told me.
I'm sure he doesn't believe sitting in a room being insulted and demeaned by an arrogant, overbearing, obnoxious yobbo doctor' would make anyone elated. It certainly didn't have that effect on me.
As far as I am concerned, this interrogation had now ended. The tables turned. I accused him of having an agenda of deliberately and maliciously abusing and insulting me from the start. He looked innocent and said 'no I haven’t'. I replied 'Yes you have. 'No' he responded. I now say 'oh yes you have, yes you have'. His face broke into a full smile. To me that was a tacit, involuntary admission of guilt.
He then looked down his nose at me and sneered 'have you ever abused drugs'. I replied 'no I haven't' with equal contempt.
The above is an egregious violation of paragraphs 46 and 47 of the GMC guide to good medical practice. I met a few unpleasant people in my career, but nothing prepared me for this. I was relaxed before the appointment, traumatised and unwell afterwards. This was a humiliating and degrading experience and I was extremely distressed by it.
It is not unreasonable to assume the whole, ridiculous charade was designed to upset me and see I was stupid enough to believe I was elated in order for him diagnose me as bipolar and prescribe me drugs. That would be pretty despicable behaviour for a real drug dealer, never mind a 'doctor'. It is the dangerous level of arrogance that is disturbing, only mitigated by the comical ineptitude of the execution.
Not only does he have severe personality issues, he is a low intelligence and quality individual. He should not be given access to vulnerable patients. I keep track of interactions on this site. Almost all of them come to the McAllister. A distressed woman contacted me saying he treated her with contempt and she had real problems with social services because of her lack of progress.
****
This next episode unfortunately goes much further than mischief. It is deliberately out of sequence to keep the subject matter separate.
Next day I told two nurses I would never see him again. I also met him in the Charleston reception some time later. He asked if I wanted him to make an appointment, I said 'no, he replied 'are you sure', 'Yes'. Despite this very clear instruction, he made me an appointment for a psychiatric assessment with his colleague Alistair Kinniburgh disguised as an appointment to see my medical records. This was a very sinister, little subterfuge. Thankfully completely transparent to anyone with the even the most basic of intelligence. For example, a dog.
Kinniburgh made a full confession in a letter. He claimed that McAllister was concerned about my mental health. If he was, then he wouldn't have waited two months to make the appointment. Until just after I complained about him to the GMC. This was obviously some form of retribution or attempt to discredit me following the complaint. This is a vile tactic used by NHS management against whistle blowers.
The medical records saga continues at the bottom half of the complaints page.
NHSGGC, psychiatry, Dykebar, Paisley, consultant, doctor, dr