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DMH Consultant Nirbhay Singh Abruptly Resigns

Singh, Consultant to California Mental Hospitals, Abruptly Resigns
By Lee Romney and John Hoeffel / Los Angeles Times / January 28, 2011

… His resignation, which is effective Tuesday, comes less than two weeks after The Times interviewed a top state Department of Mental Health official about his performance and role.

Reached Thursday, Nirbhay Singh said, “Basically, my job is done,” noting that the hospitals have reached compliance with many of the demands spelled out in a 2006 U.S. Justice Department lawsuit settlement. “I’ve been with them for nine years. That’s long enough. I have a life,” he said.

Singh declined to comment on whether inquiries by The Times played a role in his decision….

Singh’s departure was welcomed by his critics, including employee unions and staff members who say his changes were inappropriate for the types of patients housed there and led to deteriorating safety….

“According to most of our members, he did very little to create a healthy and safe environment for [patients] and staff, and he did a great deal to create a morass of paper and a waste of professional time,” said Dr. Stuart Bussey, president of the Union of American Physicians and Dentists, which represents the hospitals’ psychiatrists and medical doctors.

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