This is part of the report by leading Australian psychiatrist Doctor Jonathan Phillips.
It was done on the 20th March 2001 and for 7 years I have been asking Qantas for details of their illegal actions and other information,but they will not reply.
Mr. B
Griffin is a 61 year old ex QANTAS pilot who developed an obsessive compulsive
disorder at around 29 August 1979 whilst flying as a co-pilot on a 747 aircraft.
He became obsessionally pre-occupied with a particular emergency procedure at
that time and had a compulsion to carry out actions likely to cause major
problems for the aircraft which was then in normal operating mode. He had a not
dissimilar experience on 30 August 1979. He suffered generalised anxiety
symptoms additionally.
It should be noted that Mr. Griffin was "forced to
resign" during 1982 after a turbulent period when fellow pilots were reluctant
to fly with him. He appears not to have managed to establish a continuing and
satisfactory career from that time. He remains obsessionally
preoccupied with matters linked to his treatment by Qantas and additionally in
relation to his psychiatric assessment and treatment.
It is always
difficult to make comment on the management of a patient more that 20 years
after the index event. Additionally there has been considerable development in
the classification of psychiatric illness since that time and in the assessment
and treatment of a person suffering from psychiatric illness.
In
retrospect I believe the psychiatrists who examined Mr. Griffin in 1979 should
have given more weight to his general anxiety symptoms leading up to and
including 1979, in addition to the obvious and acute obsessive compulsive
components of his disorder. There may have been evidence additionally to suggest
that the client had underlying personality problems, particularly a rather
driven quality in the way he went about his life.
Taking all maters
together, I believe Mr. Griffin should have been medically retired at the time
of his acute problems, particularly noting the difficulties to be experienced in
the management of any person with obsessive compulsive disorder ( a point
highlighted by Professor Ball) and matters of public safety.
It seems
more likely than not that Mr. Griffin was given false hope during 1979,
particularly that he would overcome his then problems and be able to keep flying
with QANTAS. As it happened the client was identified by other pilots as having
various problems and he appears to have been rejected by them.
Simply, If
Mr. Griffin had been assisted in making an orderly medical retirement at/around
1979, he would have been better able to address issues of rehabilitation,
particularly organising a further career in which he could use the more
generalised higher level skills gained during his period with Qantas.
If
the above had applied, Mr. Griffin would have not experienced much of the chaos
and uncertainly which followed his exit from QANTAS. He would have been in a
position to find clearer direction in life and I doubt would have suffered as
severely from ongoing anxiety depression symptoms and depression spectrum
symptoms.
On my evaluation Mr. Griffin experienced a worsening of his
symptoms generally as a consequence of QANTAS expecting him to continue flying
and failing to organise appropriate medical retirement.
At this relatively
late stage, Mr. Griffin is likely to remain obsessionally preoccupied by what he
understandably considers to be inappropriate treatment by QANTAS. He is
unlikely to benefit from intensive psychiatric treatment at this point in time
and will remain as he is indefinitely. It is more likely that not that he will
continue to experience dysphoric symptoms and the quality of his life will
remain impaired.