A visitor with Munchausen's syndrome

S Michael Crawford1, Ganesan Jeyasanger, Marie Wright

  • 1Airedale General Hospital, Keighley, West Yorkshire. Michael.Crawford@anhst.nhs.uk

The arrival on the hospital ward of a person who was fabricating an illness was an unsettling experience for the medical and nursing staff involved. As the patient was expected only to be present for a short time and claimed to have a proven diagnosis, the approach may have been less rigorous than usual. The article describes the experience of three members of staff with a patient who proved to have Munchausen's syndrome, and their reaction to discovering the truth.

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