Douglas Mental Health University Institute

Aidez les agents de sécurité sont agressifs et violents, ils devraient changer de compagnie, j’ai encore mal à la tête de la façon dont le chef de la sécurité me crie, j’attendais quelqu’un et je lui ai dit juste une minute s’il vous plaît, et il a commencé à me crier et à frapper ma fenêtre, ça me fait trop peur

La réceptionniste est totalement incompétente. Elle a refusé de me dire dans qu'elle chambre mon amie était parce qu'elle "venait juste de commencer à travailler il y a 20 minutes" et que ça ne lui "tentait pas de commencer à chercher des noms". Ensuite elle m'a dit d'appeler mon amie pour lui demander sa chambre et quand j'ai dit qu'elle n'était pas en mesure de parler à cause de sa condition la réceptionniste m'a dit "Ben oui je suis sûre qu'elle peut". Super manque d'empathie et de compassion, bravo.

The 2 stars is just because of one therapist I had a long time ago in the eating disorder program. She made this place not worthless. I wanted to continue therapy with her privately after my sessions were done because it was so hard to find good therapists at the time but she wasn’t allowed to sadly.
Mimi Israel is a sad person and she was head of the program somehow. I saw her in private practice a couple times and refused to return after her advice to me at the peak of my anorexia (when I wasnt interested in gaining weight and just wanted strategies for coping with the obsessive thoughts) was to “drink 3 glasses of milk per day to gain 10 pounds” and similar things. I wonder if she’s come to her senses or went back to school because it seems her education was outdated at the time. I didn’t lose motivation to improve and went to other therapists. I eventually was referred to the Douglas and they almost placed me with her again. I said hell no! They were going to put me in a group and I wasn’t comfortable talking about very dark things in a group of already traumatized people and didn’t know how it could help so luckily they placed me with that one amazing therapist. A blessing. I’ll try to find her name soon but I couldn’t find her anywhere online these days. At the time she must have been the first person to take my complex issues seriously and empathize with me thoughtfully enough to help me in my whole life
I returned once in more recent years to the overnight outpatient emerg or whatever you call it when I had a FEP. I was really overwhelmed and my friend thought to bring me but it wasn’t worth it. I wish they could have just helped me chillout at home. Not the best friend I thought they were. The nurses made me sleep in the hallway with the lights on bright and hardly fed me anything the next day. I had to sleep a second night in a room with another person. It was sketchy. They wouldn’t let you walk outside, everything very controlled and rude. I was unstable and ended up letting a guy that was there sleep over when I was released because he would have been homeless and I had impaired judgement. He wasn’t safe to be around but luckily didn’t hurt me or steal anything valuable. I hope he still appreciates the stupid risk I took for him. People are not ok. If my abusive mother hadn’t come to visit at the hospital and bring me food I would have starved. So much for a hospital that specializes in eating disorders. They wouldn’t let me leave with her. Had to wait my turn to be discharged. Luckily I didn’t have a job to go to. Nothing is really done except getting you in the system. Psychiatric meds journeys start here and they’re not rly helpful to people who have so much at stake. They could do damage to your life. After years of meds, some I was taking started giving me MS like symptoms and these symptoms luckily stopped when I stopped the meds. If you or your family member doesn’t have self awareness don’t give them meds because they won’t be able to tell you what they’re feeling. I retained body, psychological and emotional awareness through all of this so I was able to somewhat defend myself

This happened In December of 2018. I don't know why I did not write this sooner, I never shared with anyone about what happened until I told someone and they told me I should file a lawsuit. But I am writing this review because I hope this hospital reaches out to me because you have to fight and argue to get anything in this province.
I went to the emergency department because I was suicidal and wanted to jump off the victoria bridge. I was assessed and admitted, keep in mind I was 19 years old at the time. I was in the emergency for 10 days until I was admitted to CPC2. It was during the holidays close to christmas I have been in the unit for 5 days without seeing a psychiatrist.
At the unit I was followed by a very rude nurse, I forgot her name but she was of Haitian decent and she persistently made me feel horrible and would never ask me if I was okay. I ended up self harming from a can of soda that I crushed. After the nurse saw she just did not bat an eye and was blaming me and saying I was manipulative and that I am doing this for attention.
I was Finally seen by a psychiatrist called Dr. Iskandar or Iskanadran. I need to make a request to get my medical files if I want to file a lawsuit to this psychiatrist. He kept asking me what my plan was which was very vague and I kept giving him an answer and he kept repeating it and I yelled at him because I could not take it anymore. He told me that I do not belong on the unit and I was doing it all for attention and he discharged me. I had no job and no one even thought of putting me on sickness ei or any followup or support because I had no family that could take care of me and I was basically abandoned by them because they couldnt handle my mental illness so I was basically on my own.
Close to new years I went home and I made a suicide attempt by slicing my wrists. I was rushed to the Verdun Hospital and needed stitches and needed minor surgery. I was a millimetre away from puncturing my arterial vein on my arm which meant i could have bled out in minutes and died. I was taken back to the douglas and then released once more because I wasnt taken seriously. I was also followed by Dr. Suzanne Renaud for years and she was dismissive and arrogant and did not offer me the support I needed. She also mis diagnosed has having Borderline Personality and was put on Venlafaxin which made me manic. It was when I moved to Alberta I met a psychiatrist who wasnt blinded by idiotic arrogance and lack of compassion and empathy. He diagnosed me as Bipolar and put me on medication that changed my life and made me more stable as well as some ECT treatments to help my persistent depression.
If this doctor lived in Montreal and I was his patient, I would have not wasted 5 years of my adolescence, young adult life from 17-21 going to the douglas like a revolving door and meeting the most arrogant doctors and lazy nurses and PABs that act like you owe them something.
I am happy Dr. Renaud is retired, the most incompetent doctor at that hospital and what is laughable is that her specialty is mood disorders. As for Dr. Iskandar, he is the reason why I almost died. When i was brought back to the hospital from verdun hospital, every nurse and doctor believed that the only reason I sliced my veins is because I was "trying to get back at Dr. Iskandar"
Please note I was 19 years old and had very little support.

I wish I told someone this sooner. I needed to tell someone about this sooner, I was too ashamed to talk about it because I felt that it was my fault. I will be speaking to a medical malpractice lawyer the 16th of January. I hope this hospital reaches out to me to reach some form of agreement and investigation into Dr. Iskandar, I would personally like to speak to him and convey the message that I will be speaking to a lawyer.

I wasted the best years of my young adult life to being medicated, depressed, hospitalized, yelled at, made to feel small and bullied by incompetent doctors who clearly never learned the first rule of the hippocratic oath.

Do no harm.

Best Regards

Message aux familles qui amène leurs enfants au Douglas! Ce lieu, n’est vraiment pas sécuritaire! Les agents de sécurité manque d’expérience et ont abuser de leur pouvoir avec une serviette blanche amener exprès pour m’ettoufer dans l’isoloir des soins intensif, malgré que j’étais attacher. Le manque de formations, et ce geste mérite d’être puni et dénoncer! Si, il l’ont fait a moi, ils le font à tous le monde! J’étais entrain de faire ma prière puisque je n’y respirer plus.
De plus, le personel, a cet endroit sont trop exigent et ne donne aucun répit au patient. Trop de médications inutiles, et abusent énormément du tribunal pour rester enfermer à l’hôpital ou bien pour un suivi à long terme. Il faut, absolument, rester éloigner de cet prison et de leurs médication forcée.
La direction est complètement absente et encourage les psychiatres à ne pas APPLIQUER la loi des droits et liberté de la personne.
A ÉVITER À TOUT PRIX!

Un suivi psychiatrique prioritaire reçu. 13 jours plus tard! Elle s'est suicidée.
Bravo gang de pas bon!
À lire dans le journal La Presse du 14 décembre.