Mr AC Stuart
i
MR HOWELL
Reference....
PA
13/9
98
The following is the text of the statement
just issued in Hong Kong:
"The Hong Kong Government today received a report on Mr Nigel Howell's condition. Mr Howell was seen by his private doctor immediately after
his return from Hong Kong on September 7th and was
put on sick leave suffering from "an anxiety
state".
He was examined by a psychiatric specialist at St. Thomas's hospital on September 9th. The specialist's initial report indicates that
Mr Howell is suffering from an acute depressive
illness.
In the specialist's opinion, for this reason it
will be highly undesirable for Mr Howell to serve outside his home environment for the time being. An acute depressive illness can occur very rapidly without prior warning and without identifiable symptoms immediately prior to the event.
The extent and basic cause of illness cannot
be thoroughly known until the patient is well
on the road to recovery and when he is in a position
to fully discuss his illness. Doctors are not yet able to determine at what speed the illness developed in this particular case.
A month before Mr Howell left for Hong Kong a medical examination was carried out by the
consultant/