It was late afternoon one 31st October. I had
received a referral for Bert, an elderly man living alone in a cottage a few
miles out of Charwood. His GP was concerned that he had dementia and was expressing
severe paranoid symptoms, including being tormented by someone he called Mr
Dark, who, he said, was entering his cottage, interfering with his possessions
and stealing the electricity from his lights.
I popped into the GP’s surgery and got him to complete a
medical recommendation for Sec.2. I then arranged to go with a psychiatrist.
The light was failing by the time we arrived at his cottage,
in a remote location a little way outside the village, at the end of a narrow
lane. The cottage was in a state of dilapidation; once thatched, many years ago
this had been replaced by corrugated iron sheets, which were now rusting and
ragged at the edges. The garden was overgrown and choked with brambles and
nettles.
The psychiatrist and I made our way to the front door and
knocked. A frail looking old man opened the door, and appeared pleased to see
us.
“Come in, come in,” he said, without bothering to ask who we
were, and led us into a heavily beamed room with a cooking range in the
fireplace. We sat down on wooden chairs that were arranged around a large
table.
I introduced myself and explained why we were there.
“Your doctor’s worried about you. He says that you’re
worried about people coming into the house –“
“Not people,” he said, leaning into us. “Not people.”
“What do you mean?”
“Mr Dark. He’s not people. He’s not a person. He steals my
light. He’ll steal my soul. He’ll extinguish me. He won’t let me alone until he’s
taken everything and I’m just a husk.” He started to cry.
He continued rambling on in this vein. He looked terrified
and exhausted. He couldn’t continue like this.
“How do you feel about coming into hospital?” I asked him.
“Hospital?” Some semblance of animation lit up his eyes. “I’ll
go to hospital – as long as Mr Dark’s not there. Will Mr Dark be at the
hospital?”
“No,” I said, “no he won’t.”
Although Bert appeared happy enough about informal
admission, I did not feel he could make informed consent, and he might possibly
change his mind before he got there. So the psychiatrist and I decided that it
was best to complete an application for admission under Sec.2 MHA, to assess
him further.
We completed the forms, and I told him he would indeed be
going to hospital. This seemed to calm him.
I called for an ambulance, and the psychiatrist, as they
always do, left.
Bert sat by the table, and rested his head on his folded
arms. He appeared to fall asleep. By now night had fallen.
That was when I heard
a sound coming from upstairs. It sound like footsteps.
As far as I knew, Bert lived alone. I had established that
he had no relatives in the area, only a sister who lived many miles away and
was in a care home.
“Bert,” I said. He opened his eyes.
“Bert, is there anyone else in the house? Only I thought I
heard someone upstairs.”
Bert’s face filled with dread. “He’s here! He’s coming for
me.”
I was sure it must be rats. Most likely in a rundown old
cottage. Rats.
I decided not to investigate. Instead, I rang Ambulance control
to see how much longer they would be.
Then the door from the hall opened and someone walked in. A
tall, gangly man with a pale face, coal black eyes, and a wide lipless mouth.
He pulled up a chair and sat down at the table.
Excuse me,” I said, as always polite. “What are you doing
here? You’re not a relative are you?”
The man smiled broadly, revealing two rows of rotting teeth.
“A relative? No, I’m not a relative. I’m Mr Dark.”
He waved a hand and the lights in the room flickered and
then went out.
You'd make an excellent author! I can't believe I actually believed this... till I got to the end ��
ReplyDeleteWhat do you mean? I AM an excellent author!
DeleteWhat was it like being inpatient at the same time as your service user? Or did you get beds in different units?!
ReplyDeleteAnd did you consult Mr Dark as the Nearest Relative on the grounds of cohabitation?
ReplyDeleteSo you survived to write the blog. .... What care and support needs does Bert have? Does he "have the appearance of need" as regards Care Act eligibility criteria? He clearly has capacity.... How can he been supported in protecting himself from Mr Dark? I'm not sure that the police have a Paranormal Investigation Squad....
ReplyDelete