A year later, 23-year-old Song He from Huize County, Yunnan, is still running around trying to restore his driver’s license, as he urgently needs to prove that he has never suffered from schizophrenia.
On April 10, 2024, Song He, who was working in Jinghong City, Xishuangbanna Prefecture, Yunnan, suddenly received a package sent by the Kunming Vehicle Administration, informing him that his motor vehicle driver’s license (D license) would be revoked due to his physical condition. After further investigation, he learned that on September 2, 2016, when he was in the first year of junior high school, he was diagnosed with schizophrenia by Dr. Wang, a psychiatrist at the Huize County People’s Hospital, and was included in the local severe mental illness management and treatment network.
Song He himself
The handling opinion issued by the Huize County Health and Health Commission in March this year shows that after investigation and verification, Song He was included in the management by the Huize County Mental Health Project Office according to relevant regulations because of “abnormal behavior, difficulty in communication, and emotional excitement”, and his father took him to the health center for on-site diagnosis.
Song He pointed out that he had neither gone to the health center for mental health screening nor received a professional diagnosis from Dr. Wang, the doctor involved, and that Dr. Wang did not obtain the professional qualification for mental health until May 2017.
The diagnostic certificate issued by the Psychiatry Department of the Third People’s Hospital of Qujing City in April this year shows that no obvious abnormalities were found in Song He’s mental examination, his thinking logic was clear and reasonable, and his emotional response was appropriate… No symptoms of mental illness have been found at present.
On April 24, the Huize County Health and Health Commission stated that the diagnostic certificate had confirmed that Song He had no mental illness, and that he would be removed from the severe mental illness management network according to procedures, and would synchronize this information to the public security department to restore his driver’s license as soon as possible.
Huize County People’s Hospital
He was diagnosed with schizophrenia 8 years later before he knew it
Huize is located in the main peak area of the Wumeng Mountains in northeastern Yunnan, with a total population of 1.074 million, making it the third most populous county in Yunnan Province. Song He, whose original name was Song Zhengxiong, was born in February 2002 in a rural family in Zhichang Township, Huize County.
After dropping out of junior high school, he left his hometown to make a living, and has worked as a contractor and founded a company. On April 10, 2024, he was busy in Jinghong City when he unexpectedly received a postal express from the Kunming Vehicle Administration.
The above-mentioned postal express showed that the Kunming Municipal Public Security Bureau Traffic Police Detachment Vehicle Administration (hereinafter referred to as the Kunming Vehicle Administration) informed him that Song He’s motor vehicle driver’s license would be revoked according to law.
Because he likes motorcycles, Song He obtained a D license in April 2022.
To this end, he called the Kunming Vehicle Administration for consultation. The staff asked him if he had suffered from mental illness before, and said that according to the latest management regulations, the motor vehicle driver’s license must be revoked for drug users and people with mental disorders. If there are any objections, they can be raised within 30 days, and it will be revoked and announced invalid after the deadline.
Song He was very puzzled and explained that he had never suffered from mental illness. The staff said that he could go to the hospital where his household registration was located to inquire, and also pointed out that there are three ways to revoke the driver’s license revocation: provide a certificate of mental illness recovery, a certificate of removal from the supervision list from the local police station, and provide a psychiatric judicial appraisal.
Huize County People’s Hospital Mental Rehabilitation Building
On April 13, 2024, Song He went to the Psychiatry Department of Huize County People’s Hospital and requested to obtain his medical records. “However, whether it was Song He or Song Zhengxiong, no medical records were found.” The next day, Song He went to the Zhichang Police Station of the Huize County Public Security Bureau, where his household registration was located, to report that he was unjustifiably diagnosed with mental illness, which led to the revocation of his driver’s license.
Song He said that the police station staff suggested that he go to the Third People’s Hospital of Qujing City for a psychological assessment. On April 17 of the same year, the Third People’s Hospital of Qujing City issued Song He’s psychological assessment results. Multiple scales showed that Song He did not have obvious social dysfunction, nor did he have manic symptoms and anxiety.
When he happily submitted the assessment results to the police station, the staff informed him that a doctor needed to make a diagnosis of mental illness. “I went to the Third People’s Hospital of Qujing City again, but the doctor said that a similar diagnosis could only be made if the Vehicle Administration commissioned them to do the appraisal.” Then, he went to the Nanhaizi Vehicle Administration of Qujing City, and later went to the Kunming Vehicle Administration.
“They said that the psychological assessment results could not be used as the basis for revoking the driver’s license revocation, but since I raised an objection, the driver’s license could be temporarily frozen, and at the same time, they would contact the Qujing Vehicle Administration for appraisal.” The APP on the Traffic Management 12123 shows that as of April 25 this year, Song He’s driver’s license is still in a locked state.
Song He’s driver’s license is still in a locked state
More than a month later, the relevant departments of Huize County reported that they found the diagnosis materials of Song He’s illness in the Zhichang Health Center: it turned out that as early as 8 years ago, Song He had been diagnosed with schizophrenia by Dr. Wang, a psychiatrist at the Huize County People’s Hospital, and was included in the management.
It is worth noting that on June 21, 2024, in a letter sent to the Zhichang Township Health Center, the Zhichang Police Station stated that on April 18, 2024, the station found that Song He’s personality was extreme and that there was a risk of illegal and criminal activities due to his history of mental illness. It requested the Zhichang Township Health Center to earnestly fulfill its main responsibility after receiving the letter, carry out targeted work on Song He, and do a good job in investigation, risk control, etc. The abstract also stated that on April 18 of the same year, the station received a report from Song He questioning why he was diagnosed with mental illness, which led to the revocation of his driver’s license.
In addition, the police station also suggested that the health center understand Song He’s medical history, “whether he has a mental illness, and if he does have a mental illness, we hope that the hospital will issue a certificate to the Zhichang Police Station of Huize County.”
Regarding this letter, Song He told The Paper that on April 18, he had reported to the Discipline Inspection Commission of Qujing City and the Public Security Bureau of Huize County that he had been included in the mental illness supervision system without any substantive basis, and also complained about the inaction and arbitrary actions of the police station. He believes that the content of the letter does not match the facts.
On April 26, The Paper called the police station to understand the basis for the letter’s claim that Song He had a history of mental illness and the risk of illegal and criminal activities. The police officer said that it was an internal work process and that the propaganda department could be contacted.
The local government once issued screening work indicators for patients with severe mental disorders, which stipulated the diagnosis rate
A diagnostic certificate stamped with the official seal of the Huize County People’s Hospital shows that on September 2, 2016, Song He, who was 14 years old at the time, was diagnosed with schizophrenia, and the treating doctor was Dr. Wang of the hospital’s psychiatry department. The personal basic information form shows that Song He has a severe mental disorder, and the personal information supplement form shows that his main symptoms were “hallucinations, difficulty in communication, strange behavior, pessimism and world-weariness, and withdrawn laziness”, and the doctor’s signature column was filled by Chen, the village doctor at the time.
8 years ago, Song He was diagnosed with schizophrenia by Dr. Wang, a psychiatrist at the Huize County People’s Hospital, and was included in the management.
When he received the materials, Song He was also told that the diagnosis was made by the doctors of the Huize County People’s Hospital during a “free clinic” at the Zhichang Township Health Center that year.
Song He told The Paper that he had never gone to the health center for any mental diagnosis, nor had he ever met Dr. Wang, the treating doctor.
On the two materials, the personal information supplement form and the informed consent form for participation in the severe mental illness treatment network, there are signatures and phone numbers of Song He’s father. “My father is illiterate. He signed once when he took me for vaccinations. The doctor gave him the form and asked him to sign it, but he didn’t know the content of the documents,” Song He explained.
Song He’s father confirmed the above statement to The Paper, and said that he had never taken Song He to the Zhichang Township Health Center for a mental diagnosis, nor did he know why Song He was diagnosed with schizophrenia by the Huize County People’s Hospital. In addition, Song He also questioned that the doctor’s diagnosis was made on September 2, 2016, which was during the school opening period. “I was staying at school at that time, so how could I go to the hospital?”
Song He and his father both admitted that Song He had indeed gone to the hospital for diagnosis because of his rebelliousness and disobedience. A diagnosis from the Third People’s Hospital of Qujing City on August 24, 2015, showed that his father reported that Song He had been talking nonsense, running around outside, and climbing trees for the past three years, 1-2 times a month, each time lasting 1-2 hours. However, the doctor did not make a diagnosis, and the electroencephalogram also showed that it was within the normal range.
Diagnosis from the Third People’s Hospital of Qujing City on August 24, 2015.
In July 2024, Song He sued the Huize County People’s Hospital in court for medical damage liability disputes, requesting the other party to compensate him for the serious consequences caused by the diagnosis of schizophrenia, and to publicly apologize. “But during the pre-trial evidence, the court said that the appraisal agency selected by both me and the hospital did not have the qualification for psychiatric appraisal.”
Later, professionals reminded him that he did not have a medical dispute with the Huize County People’s Hospital, and the chances of losing the case were high. On October 10, 2024, Song He withdrew the lawsuit and was approved by the court. However, Song He also obtained more evidence materials, including a document issued by the Huize County Health Bureau in 2016, “Notice on Organizing and Carrying out the Screening, Diagnosis, and Evaluation of Patients with Severe Mental Disorders in 2016”.
In 2016, the Huize County Health Bureau issued the document “Notice on Organizing and Carrying out the Screening, Diagnosis, and Evaluation of Patients with Severe Mental Disorders in 2016”
The document shows that the screening work for patients with severe mental disorders in Huize County in 2016 began on August 8, 2016, and the screening work was specifically implemented by the Psychiatry Department of the Huize County People’s Hospital… The screening work indicators were that the diagnosis rate of patients with severe mental disorders must reach more than 4.5‰ of the total population of the jurisdiction; the medication rate of patients with severe mental disorders in the community must reach more than 25%; and the risk assessment rate of severe mental disorders must reach 100%. Among them, the screening work in Zhichang Township was from September 1 to 2.
The document clearly states that the screening work indicators are that the diagnosis rate of patients with severe mental disorders must reach more than 4.5‰ of the total population of the jurisdiction
The aforementioned document also stated that the heads of the health centers and central health centers in each township (town, street) were the first responsible persons, and those who failed to complete the work on time for any reason would be held accountable for leadership responsibility.
“I suspect that they diagnosed me with schizophrenia and included me in their management system in order to complete the indicators.” What made Song He even more surprised was that the Psychiatry Department of the Huize County People’s Hospital and the Zhichang Health Center, without contacting him, filled out the follow-up service record form and efficacy evaluation record form from September 2016 to July 2024. “They filled out the forms when I was away from home.”
For example, on July 8, 2021, the record form showed that the doctor conducted a home visit to Song He and followed up with Song He and his guardian, and Song He’s condition was “stable”. However, Song He was working in Urumqi, Xinjiang at the time, and did not return to Kunming until August 5 of the same year; on June 7, 2019, the doctor conducted a home follow-up to Song He, and the symptoms were “hallucinations”, but the shared bicycle riding record showed that Song He was in Ningbo, Zhejiang at the time; the efficacy evaluation record form on July 7, 2022, recorded that Song He’s current symptoms were “withdrawn laziness”, and he took medication twice a day. Song He presented his ticket information to prove that he flew from Kunming to Changchun to work on June 8, 2022, and did not return to Kunming until July 14.
The follow-up service record form filled out by the hospital
The Paper reviewed the follow-up record forms and found that the doctors’ follow-up methods marked in these records were mostly video follow-ups, and Song He’s symptoms showed various forms such as (producing) hallucinations, suspicion, mood swings, difficulty in communication, strange behavior, pessimism and world-weariness, and withdrawn laziness. But Song He said that he had never received a call or video request from the doctors of the Huize County People’s Hospital or the Zhichang Health Center. “I don’t know how they conducted the follow-up.”
Regarding how Song He’s follow-up records were made, the staff of the Zhichang Township Health Center office told The Paper that they were not clear, and that Chen, the village doctor, had retired for many years and did not have her contact information.
After being diagnosed as healthy, the Health and Health Commission stated that it would remove him from the severe mental illness management network according to procedures
In addition, Song He also found that Dr. Wang, the doctor who diagnosed him with schizophrenia, did not obtain the professional qualification for mental health until May 12, 2017. According to Article 25 of China’s Mental Health Law, the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders should be carried out by psychiatrists and nurses who are qualified for the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders.
In February this year, Song He complained to the Huize County Health and Health Commission that Dr. Wang, without the professional qualification for mental health, illegally issued a diagnosis of mental illness, causing him serious losses, and requested that the illegal and irregular behavior of the Huize County People’s Hospital and Dr. Wang be investigated and dealt with.
On March 3, the Huize County Health and Health Commission stated in the handling opinion that the bureau attached great importance to it and immediately organized relevant personnel to conduct investigation and verification. After investigation, in October 2015, Song He’s father found that Song He had “abnormal behavior, difficulty in communication, emotional excitement, and smashing things when he was dissatisfied”, and informed the village committee and village clinic staff of the situation. The village clinic suggested that his father take Song He to a higher-level hospital for further diagnosis and treatment (the specific diagnosis and treatment situation is unknown).
On September 2, 2016, the Huize County Mental Health Project Office organized doctors from the county people’s hospital to the Zhichang Township Health Center for screening of mental disorders, and notified the village clinics to take those suspected of having symptoms of mental illness in the village to the health center for screening. Because Song He was a minor at the time, his father, as his guardian, took Song He to the site for examination and diagnosis, and the Huize County Mental Health Project Office included him in the management according to relevant regulations.
The Huize County Health and Health Commission stated that it also learned during the investigation that after Song He’s father returned from the hospital, he went to the village committee and asked for relevant certificates to apply for a disability certificate. The village committee staff informed Song He that he was still young and could postpone the application for a disability certificate and see how things went after a while (the disability certificate was not applied for).
The Huize County Health and Health Commission also responded to the follow-up situation. The opinion letter shows that according to the investigation and verification, in the whole incident, the Huize County Mental Health Project Office carried out screening, diagnosis, and inclusion in management in accordance with the relevant regulations for mental illness management. “In the subsequent follow-up management work, Song He’s father was very cooperative in the early stage, but in the later stage, due to the frequent changes in contact information due to the long-term absence of the father and son, the follow-up work was not in place.”
However, the Huize County Health and Health Commission did not respond to Song He’s reflection on the professional qualification of Dr. Wang in the handling opinion. At the same time, the bureau also suggested that Song He should re-examine and diagnose his current condition or conduct judicial appraisal, reflect the problem through normal channels, and protect his rights and interests through judicial channels.
On March 3 this year, the Huize County Health and Health Commission stated in the handling opinion that the follow-up work was not in place.
On April 14, under the coordination of the local health and health department, Song He went to the Third People’s Hospital of Qujing City for diagnosis again. The diagnostic certificate shows that his clinical manifestations are: no obvious abnormalities were found in the mental examination, his thinking logic was clear and reasonable, his emotional response was appropriate, and no obvious abnormalities were found in the assessment results of the Minnesota and Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale. The diagnosis result is that no symptoms of mental illness have been found at present.
On April 14 this year, the diagnostic certificate issued by the Third People’s Hospital of Qujing City shows that no symptoms of mental illness have been found in Song He at present.
Song He and his father told The Paper that they did not recognize the aforementioned handling opinion made by the Huize County Health and Health Commission, and they had not gone to the health center for on-site mental diagnosis. Song’s father also denied asking the village committee to apply for a disability certificate. And after Song He complained, Song’s father did not receive a telephone call from the Health and Health Commission for investigation and verification.
The hospital’s official website data shows that Dr. Wang is currently the deputy chief physician of the Psychiatry Department of the Huize County People’s Hospital, has been engaged in clinical work for more than 30 years, and is good at the systematic diagnosis and treatment of mental and psychological diseases and respiratory diseases.
On April 24, Dr. Wang explained to Song He that when he and other doctors went to the Zhichang Township Health Center for mental screening in September 2016, he did diagnose Song He, and Song He’s father accompanied him at the time. However, the diagnostic certificate with his signature was opened after the fact based on the original copy of the medical certificate about Song He provided by the Zhichang Township Health Center and the informed consent form signed by Song He’s father, as a basis for including Song He in the local severe mental illness management network.
Dr. Wang also said that to be included in the local severe mental illness management network, the guardian’s signature must be obtained. He made the diagnosis after seeing Song He’s father’s signed consent form. After being included in the severe mental illness management network, patients can apply for a disability certificate with this, enjoy the national subsistence allowance policy, “and have at least one free physical examination every year, and there is also a corresponding drug subsidy every month.”
As for Song He’s claim that he had not obtained the professional qualification for mental health in September 2016, Dr. Wang argued that the mental health specialty belongs to a branch of internal medicine, and he was a doctor of internal medicine at the time, and he had obtained relevant certificates after training and learning, and could carry out diagnosis and treatment activities, but Dr. Wang did not specify what kind of certificate it was.
Song He went to the Huize County Health and Health Commission to request the original copy of the medical certificate from the Zhichang Township Health Center, but the other party said it was not convenient to disclose
On the same day, Song He went to the relevant person in charge of the Huize County Health and Health Commission, hoping to understand the details of the investigation and verification mentioned in the aforementioned handling opinion, and to provide the original copy of the medical certificate from the Zhichang Township Health Center that Dr. Wang mentioned. But the other party responded that the specific investigation situation was not convenient to disclose.
The person in charge also said that the diagnostic certificate issued by the Third People’s Hospital of Qujing City on April 14 had proved that Song He had no mental illness, and that the health and health department would remove him from the severe mental illness management network according to procedures, and would synchronize this information to the public security department to restore his driver’s license as soon as possible.
Along the way, Song He has been exhausted and heartbroken by this matter. “When others question that I have schizophrenia, in addition to remaining calm, they should be allowed to prove whether I am sick.”
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