Dr John Griffin case: ‘He suddenly offered me a payment to settle it’

A psychiatrist gave one of his patients a personal cheque for €50,000 in what could be construed as an attempt to “thwart” a complaint to the Medical Council, according to a report by St Patrick’s Mental Health Services.

The payment was made by Dr John Griffin in September 2012, after the patient said he intended to take legal action over the standard of care he received.

Dr Griffin prescribed benzodiazepines for the patient over 20 years but the patient became increasingly concerned that the source of his mental health problems lay in an episode of sexual abuse in childhood, for which therapy rather than prescription drugs was needed.

After he warned legal action was pending, the two men met in a Dublin clinic. "Towards the end of the meeting he suddenly offered me a financial payment to 'settle it'. While I had not asked him for financial compensation, foolishly I accepted it," the patient told The Irish Times.

Post-dated cheque

The following day, Dr Griffin gave the patient a post-dated cheque and asked him to sign a note saying this was a “full and final settlement”.

Despite this, a complaint about the patient’s care ensued, prompting St Patrick’s to appoint a review team to investigate the issue. This found that Dr Griffin’s payment was “unconventional” and said it was not clear there was any involvement by legal advisers.

It said Dr Griffin failed to adhere to guidelines on reporting abuse from 2009 onwards but said his prescription of benzodiazepines over a long period did not contravene prevailing practice “given the circumstances”.

The patient says he feels the staff of SPMHS perform an excellent service but “change is needed at the top”.

“My main purpose in making all this information available is that in the interest of public safety and transparency, people with mental health problems - even basic stress/anxiety conditions - be made aware of the possible pitfalls they may encounter, such as I did, and learn from my unfortunate experience.”