Drug tests on psych patients followed all rules, says clinic

The psychiatric patients in GGZ Noord-Holland Noord that participated in a drug trial were all mentally competent and were tested for mental competency before the drug trial started. This is according to a spokesperson for the organization, De Telegraaf reports. The spokesperson was responding to reports by Zembla that the institution conducted the drug trial on a group of patients against the rules. According to the research program, a whistle blower denounced the experiment saying that the patients were not able to make an informed decision. The whistle blower was fired and imposed a gag order. GGZ Noord-Holland Noord denies these accusations. According to the spokesperson, the patients participated in a scientific investigation into the operation of a registered drug in combination with a widely used anti-psychotic medication, a combination already used by psychiatrists throughout the Netherlands. The spokesperson also said that an employee did indeed leave because she did not agree with the study, but was definitely not fired. "It is also not true that we imposed a gag order. We did hold her on medical confidentiality however."