The inner critic

[steamy]

Today I resolved to register in the UK as a health practitioner. I decided to take a look at all the people that had recently been "struck off" the register.

I started to get scared and then depressed. I realised that my inner critic was telling me stuff, as I read the cases of therapists failing to keep adequate records, having lack of empathy, social workers failing to take action for at risk kid etc. my inner critic was telling me, "that's you, having an affair with a patient, stealing money, skipping work - that could easily be you, "

At the same that I was thankful to be able to hear the critic bringing me down, I wondered about all of those people who had not only lost their jobs but their livelihoods. Of course I understand that the NHS needs to protect patients first and foremost, but I felt that many of the people losing their jobs were very likely suffering some kind of mental health problem and their dismissal might just be their disorder materialising in their behaviour.

I was reminded that if we find anybody who genuinely is able to accept us as we are we are very lucky indeed. If the NHS on the one hand recognises cptsd  and other mental disorders and provides treatment, they are unable to screen staff before they are hired or during their employment to enable employees to get treatment to avoid being struck off the register or more importantly to protect the patient, rather than the current practice of waiting for people to mess up, which  ultimately might kill the patient,  then spend a fortune on a witch hunt that leaves the employee hanging for two years before the hearing, causing extra stress and anxiety.

I am not suggesting that cptsd survivors make bad employees but as a survivor I have problems with interpersonal skills and is a typical issue for us. I struggle to keep working relationships fresh.

It seems to me that the regulatory body is simply one that is a right wing mechanism that lacks compassion and understanding, existing only to extract £100 per year from 200,000 professionals to hang people who make mistakes rather than prevention. This has been a criticism of other commentators who feel that the NHS would benefit from staff sharing and learning from their mistakes to avoid repetition.