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The man who has been the head psychiatrist for Amador County's Behavioral Health Department for more than 15 years has walked off the job and isn't coming back. He's also leveling a myriad of allegations against the department on his way out the door.
Doctor Ron Leon officially severed ties with the behavioral health department on July 30. The psychiatrist, who operates a private practice in the Bay Area, has been contracted to be the county's main mental health doctor since 1994. Leon walked out on the department and soon contacted the Ledger Dispatch, saying the department "needed to be exposed" for serious blunders with patient care and confidentiality.
Leon charges that the Behavioral Health Department is guilty of serious transgressions. "They have active patients doing things they shouldn't be doing, such as pulling their own charts and being in the record room, where they have access to other patients' charts. They've left medication open and unlocked around patients, including needles and syringes."
Leon also said that a second psychiatrist employed at Behavioral Health had been observed by staff "falling asleep on patients" and conducting treatment with his office door open - a breach of patient confidentiality.
Finally, Leon said, the department had allowed financial problems to cripple its ability to serve patients. "They don't have proper nursing staff and currently they have zero therapists," Leon added. "They've let them all go. They say they have no money, but they've hired a number of pricey consultants. Meanwhile, they're double- and triple-booking patients. Plus, they sit in meetings all day and get nothing accomplished, rather than spending time with patients."
Leon says the breaking point for him came when the department failed to pay him his regular paycheck for services rendered while he was between contract negotiations. He blames the Behavioral Health Department's Director, George Sonsel, for many of the problems he's alleging. "Everything's gone downhill since he's been there," Leon asserted.
While Sonsel has been advised by Amador County Council Martha Shaver to not directly address Leon's allegations, one local couple with intimate knowledge of the department says they are glad to see Leon go. Bill and Margaret Wagner of Pioneer are members of Amador's chapter of National Alliance on Mental Illness. Having two children who suffer from mental illness has led the Wagners to be deeply involved in NAMI for decades. Bill was on the Amador County Mental Health Board for 18 years. Both Bill and Margaret were not happy with Leon's treatment of their daughter, Mary.
"The department does have a lot of problems that concern us," Bill observed, "But I don't think Dr. Leon was doing an adequate job either. He was seeing our daughter for only about five minutes at a time. He'd just prescribe medication and then it was a light touch from there on out I don't think he knew what he was talking about when it came to our daughter."
Margaret agreed, adding that she felt Leon was often rude to the family members of patients.
In terms of Leon's complaints and allegations toward the Behavioral Health Department, Margaret is worried they could be true. "George Sonsel walked into a huge mess when he took the job," she said. "He came up with an elaborate report of everything that needed to be changed and addressed to improve care. However, we family members of patients have absolutely no clue if any of those changes have been implemented, because the department has no transparency. We're kept totally in the dark on what steps they've taken or haven't taken."
For Bill, Leon's departure presents an immediate health crisis. "I spoke to the department yesterday (Aug. 18) and they still had no psychiatrist on staff," he said. "All of the family members and patients have no idea who's now responsible for refilling prescriptions and monitoring patients' care. It's a very alarming situation."
Scott Thomas Anderson
COMMENTS ON THIS ARTICLE
A Reply to Annonamious
How can you possibly call that a "thankless job?" Do you have any idea how thankful these people are who need the help? Maybe I misunderstood your comment but if not, you think about it. A doctor takes an oath to save people's lives and make them better. If they are only it for the money, they should try another occupation that doesn't affect people's emotions, health and families emotions and health.
Additionally, even with the "Director" whom you give a lot of credit to, we still had to go find help for my sister "on the street", in a yellow pages, white pages, phonecalls to insurance, even with the help of a Senator of the USA!
If you have such a high opinion of the Director, and I have no opinion as I have not met him, you might want to suggest he hires an office manager who knows how to run an office. Making bogus appointments and "courtesy" appointments, useless phonecalls, etc. is the sign of an office manager who shouldn't be!
- Victoria (8/26/2009 7:11:48 PM)
Dr. Leon
It sounds like Dr. Leon was left no alternative but to quit. If he stayed the bologna would get blamed on him....and I know he is a compentant Dr. Maybe that he has quit, the situation will get recognized and the magnifying glass will be focused on the reasons why he left. I think it is the perfect message to send. He could have just left, said nothing and there would still be problems that would never be addressed. What better way to send a message. Now FIX THE PROBLEMS.
- jmac (8/25/2009 12:12:57 PM)
Leon
It seems Leon was fine with the ineptness of the department until he didn't get paid and then became a finger pointer.
- not surprised (8/25/2009 7:26:11 AM)
If you only knew the truth
I wanted to write to let you all know that there is so much more to this story then is written. But when you have limited funds you take what you can get. This department has been run into the ground for some time. I feel for the Director that had to take on such a mess. He is doing the best he can in a difficult situation. You see when you work for the county you are protected by so many entities that is nearly impossible to say "let someone go" for not doing their job. This leaves you trying to handle the problems in a new way (workaround). Then the county starts to drain your funding. Now what. You have to keep the program running as it is a vital part of this county and used daily by some many of our county residents. I agree it is a frustrating place but so are so many other Doctor offices and their offices get paid to stay open. Just think about it for a minute before condeming the pne person that actually cares enough to stick it out there; the Director of Behavioral Health. Without him you would probably be seeking treatment on the streets. Oh and by the way they are trying to get another "DOCTOR" in the office, but their funds are limited. Would you take a thankless job on for little to no money when you could work elsewhere for 90% more money??? Just think about it.
- Annonamious (8/24/2009 3:28:20 PM)
WHO NEED A DOCTOR LIKE THAT
WELL, I WAS THERE WHEN MY DOCTOR LEFT AND HE WAS NOT ACTING LIKE THAT PERSON SAID. HE HAD NO OUTBURST OF ANGER, HE DID NOT FRIGHTEN ANY PATIENTS AS THERE WAS ONLY TWO OF US IN THE WAITING ROOM. HE ACTUALLY SAID GOOD BYE TO US AND GAVE US HUGS. HE TOLD US TO TAKE CARE OF OURSELEVES AND WE WERE BOTH SAD AND TOUCH BY HIS KINDNESS AND GOOD CARE HE HAD GIVEN US WE WILL MISS DR LEON VERY MUCH IT IS OBVIOUS THAT A PERSON RUNNING THAT CLINIC WROTE THAT LIE!!!
- GET RID OF THE LIARS (8/24/2009 2:21:18 PM)
How hard is this to figure out people?
Once again we just received a phonecall from the Behavioral Center offering another doctor appointment to my sister. Speaking to the same woman who phoned last week I asked her how long she has been working there. Her answer was 9 years. I asked her, after 9 years don't you think you should look up whether a person has acceptable insurance before you offer them an appointment that won't be given? She said she was taking instructions from her supervisor, Sherry. How much time and money does this county want to waste on people like this? There are many people in need of appointments who qualify for the insurance accepted at the Behavioral Center. How many of them are going untreated, waiting for a phonecall offering them an appointment? And yet, after a big fallout we've had over their bogus "courtesy" appointments, they continue to not only make one, but two phone calls to someone whose insurance isn't accepted there. How about having someone run the office that knows what they are doing?
- Victoria (8/24/2009 1:15:02 PM)
Social Services
I worked there for some time. My work load was so awful. I worked extremely hard to try to keep up with it (it was impossible). I was so stressed yet was treated like a complainer and incompetent when I tried to talk to them about it. I eventually had to leave what I considered a well paying job with decent benefits (for this area) due to the stress. I stuck it out for a long time, but it was an impossible situation.
- not saying (8/22/2009 11:16:19 AM)
"Do no harm"
Dr. Leon took this oath, yet did not adhere to it. His outbursts of anger, frightening patients and staff as he departed is just another example that he needed to go, and at the same time, indicating that he was also in need of mental health. Financial cutbacks has effected many of us and we all will pay the price (including Dr. Leon). Don't blame the county mental health staff for a "sick" Doctor's behavior.
- who need a Doctor like that? (8/22/2009 9:48:38 AM)
Dr. Leon
Dr. Leon was my psychiatrist for a couple of years when I was seeking services from Amador County Mental Health. I remember on several occasions him expressing frustration with the office and how things are run. I have to agree with him on the double and triple booking appointments as this was done on me several times. Also my therapist was let go leaving me with no one to talk to for counceling which I still need. I personally expierienced from another psychiatrist that I saw in the office him falling asleep while talking to me. His eyes kept closing and he was drifing in and out of the conversation. It was simialr to talkiing to someone who was under the influence of a mind altering medication. When it comes to Amador County Behavioral Health I think they need alot of help. I have currently stopped seeking their help because they just do not have the rescourses or the time to help people. They need a make over and they need to make this a place where people can go for help.
- Christina (8/21/2009 2:02:20 PM)
Which ones are the patients?
I received a phone call from behavioral health for my sister yesterday offering to make her a doctor's appointment. I asked if it was with a psychiatrist and she said she didn't know but when my sister interupted the call (speaker phone) and asked the girl if the doctor was a psychiatrist, the girl (whose name I have but will withhold at this time) said "yes". Within 10 seconds the answer changed. I know for a fact, that there are several employees working in behavorial health who shouldn't be. By the way, behavorial health in Amador county doesn't take my sister's insurance. We've been over it with them for months and yet we still got that phone call yesterday. I could straighten out their office and the workers in it with very little effort because after having gone to a bogus appointment for my sister a few months ago, I got another dose of BS by some unimportant woman who thought I must be uneducated because I was in their office. There are way too many things for me to write them all but when you call for help with a mental patient, to a mental facility that has their phone number on a list of help lines and you are then turned over to the crisis center phone because the person at the mental health center doesn't know what to tell you, who in turn asks you if they can call you back later because they are busy with a "real" crisis, I guess that kind of sums of what kind of morons are running the mental health department in this sorry situation. Yes, that did happen to me here several months ago. Starting to get the picture here? That is as much as I care to write here.
- Victoria (8/21/2009 1:46:55 PM)
Social Services
I hope the CAO, her Deputy, and the Supervisors are happy with what their early retirements, voluntary & involuntary lay offs, and 10% pay cuts have done to Social Services, the Sheriff, and the District Attorney. Can someone on the Board please consider downsizing County Administration and the General Services Agency and reallocating those funds to these vital services? What else has to happen?
