Posted: October 29, 2013 | Author: D Rosier | Filed under: News | Tags: Anxiety disorders, Asylum, channel 4, CHMT, Community mental health service, delusion, film, GPs, health and safety, huminity and honour, London, Medication, Menatlly ill, Mental Health, Mental Health Care, mental patients, Murder, news, NHS, paranoid, Patients, psychiatric, Psychosis, Sarah Wollaston, schizophrenia, SLaM, Social worker, south london and maudsley, symptoms, Thorpe Park, Tom Werner, WCA, Work Capability Assessments |
Looking at a newspaper story about the murder of drummer Lee Rigby earlier in the year, Lloyd, who has a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia, said that hearing about schizophrenics in the news made him feel worse. He worried that he didn’t know his own mind and wondered if he himself could turn into a murderer too, since that’s what he read in the papers. Dealing with the symptoms of psychosis can be difficult enough in itself. Having to deal with society’s perceptions that people with your diagnosis are violent and unpredictable adds another level of difficulty.
Earlier today, I attended an advance screening of Channel 4′s new series on the realities of modern mental health care at the South London and Maudsley (SLaM) mental health trust. In the screening room in the basement of Channel 4′s headquarters in Horseferry Road, a select audience sat in red plush seats watching one of four programmes in the series on modern mental health care. The series is entitled Bedlam and the name choice has caused controversy. To an extent it can be argued that, when a respected NHS trust calls a television series after a medieval asylum, it dilutes the strength of the case against Thorpe Park’s “mental patient scary fun” horror maze Asylum. But what of the series itself?
The episode previewed profiled the work of Speedwell community mental health team (CMHT) in Deptford, south London, over the course of a year. The four-part series, which starts at 9pm this Thursday, also covers the Anxiety Disorders Residential Unit, Lambeth Triage (the front line for emergency cases) and the older adults unit (over 65s).
Without giving too much away, we followed patients Tamara, Lloyd and Rosemary, all of whom experience psychosis. We saw them trying to cope with periods of illness, voices, delusional beliefs about bed bugs and with children being taken into foster care. We saw them using prescription drugs as well as speed and alcohol to help manage their troubling symptoms. We saw them at times chaotic and disturbed, and at other times funny and happy.
We saw social worker Jim Thurkle doing his best to hunt down and help patients, a third of whom refuse to engage with him. We saw Dr Tom Werner doing his best to confirm the stereotype of the psychiatrist in the bow tie. We saw the fine line between enabling someone to live the life they choose and intervening in the interests of their own health and safety.
Not once did we see someone who could be considered a danger to anyone else. Not once did any of the patients present as anywhere remotely near the stereotype of the paranoid schizophrenic mad axe murderer. What we saw was patients struggling to manage their lives in difficult circumstances, and the professionals who tried to help them.
It was particularly interesting to see the work of a CMHT which, along with GPs, carry out the bulk of psychiatric care in this country. As the booklet handed out at the advance screening says:
“The lion’s share of SLaM’s work takes place in a community setting, looking after more than 35,000 people with mental health issues. SLaM treats 8,000 psychosis patients a year; 6,000 of whom are based and treated in the community. We touch on different treatments available and see intense and moving interaction with social workers and mental health teams.”
As Pete Beard, the producer of the episode, who answered questions after the screening, said:
“We wanted to reflect the realities of this challenging work, following the actual narratives of people walking a tightrope with their mental health as it happened and the teams who act as a safety net. I feel that these realities are rarely reflected accurately in the media and as a result it is important to demystify the work performed as community teams, especially taboo subjects such as being sectioned”.
It was profoundly moving to see someone taken away from their own home, against their will, and detained with no legal authority other than the personal opinions of a social worker and doctors. No police arrest, no court process, no judge, no jury. Just a simple form signed, and you have no choice about even the simplest things like what you eat, where you sleep or what shampoo you use to wash your hair. And, on a more intrusive level, you have no right to refuse medication.
This extended scene cannot help but make you reflect on the balance of power between the state and the individual, and on what society deems to be acceptable norms of behaviour. This is especially so when you’re dealing with someone you don’t really know, as can be the case when a mental health team is called out to consider sectioning someone. Britain has a proud tradition of eccentricity, but that is not tolerated if you are deemed to be mentally ill. Simply being a nuisance to others but in no way dangerous to yourself or others can, ultimately, mean three people decide on your behalf that your quality of life will be improved by a compulsory stay in a locked psychiatric ward.
The sectioning sequence made me think about the boundaries or free will and autonomy and to what extent people’s peculiarities are tolerated. I have been on the receiving end of such a process, and it changed my life irrevocably. As Dr Baggaley said, when he’s taken part in sectionings he does wonder whether this was what he trained for. Although he sees it as difficult, he does see it as necessary.
Dr Baggaley described the person in question as a “revolving door patient” who would face repeated hospitalisations, some under section (compulsion), for the rest of their life. And yet this is someone who will – under the current welfare benefits system – also face repeated Work Capability Assessments. It is hard to see the point of such assessments in this case particularly since, as Dr Sarah Wollaston MP wrote today, WCA’s are not geared towards helping people with mental health problems find and retain employment.
One of the things which struck me in this episode was the amount of humour. Despite their difficult circumstances and troubling symptoms, the patients followed could come across as affable, amenable and warm-hearted. Ripples of laughter would regularly rumble across the audience, and not just because viewers were looking for a little light relief in what was, after all, a serious topic. As with any other fly-on-the-wall documentary, the colourful charaters in this episode were full of humour. The seriousness of the subject matter made the flashes of levity even more welcome.
Overall, this preview episode was intimate, insightful and profound. It showed human beings in all our difficulties, complexities and ambiguities. It showed the realities of trying to combat the stigma around mental illness with humanity and humour. It showed that danger and fear are the least of the concerns of the CMHT.
On a final note, I will end with a criticism that was raised by audience members with personal experience of mental health services: namely that the episode was somewhat naive and unrealistic. Audience members had received far worse experiences of mental health care, or had been able to deliver a far worse service due to cutbacks. It was acknowledged by the film makers that Speedwell CMHT had a ring-fenced budget, so had not been under the same constraints and workload other CMHT’s they’d liaised with had.
It was also highlighted that a lot of the difficulties patients needed help with were practical, and that these needs were not being met. The patients were unable to deal with these matters themselves and therefore they were stuck in difficult circumstances. Examples were the bedbugs which did actually exist in Tamara’s flat. It was not a delusional belief (though its extent may have been) and dealing with that practical problem may have lessened her delusional symptoms. This and her use of amphetamines may also have been the way she managed the immense sorrow of losing her children. Lloyd appeared to be using alcohol to numb his pain.
With a series planned over two years and filmed over twelve months, much footage will have ended up on the cutting room floor. It’s a shame, however, that the close relationship between medical help and social support, and the parts played by talking therapies and thereapeutic activities, were overlooked completely in this preview episode.
Nor was the 9% reduction in inpatient beds in the past 2 years mentioned. Nor were the terrible cuts to community mental health services mentioned.
On the other hand, as Madeliene Long, SLaM chair said:
“Despite it affecting so many people, mental illness is still poorly understood. The stigma and discrimination that people face can make their mental health even worse and can prevent them from seeking help. So it’s really important that we do everything we can to raise awareness, challenge stereotypes and promote the facts about mental health. I’m really pleased that we have been able to work with Channel 4 and The Garden Productions on such an ambitious project which sets out to do exactly that.”
As executive producer Amy Flanagan said,
“Many of these patients had lived long lives with no history of mental illness. It could happen to our parents, to us.”
And, if it does happen to us or someone we know, programmes such as these will mean it feels a little less alien and a little more a part of everyday life.
Via http://sectioneduk.wordpress.com via Bridget
Posted: September 2, 2013 | Author: D Rosier | Filed under: News, Southwark | Tags: 2012 Olympics, adult social care, benefits advice, Cambridge House, CAS, channel 4, Contact a family, Cooltan Arts, dementia, diabetes, Disability Living Allowance, disabled Adults, DLA, Documentary, Drop in, Dulwich Park Ride, Focus Group, health and social care, health and wellbeing, Healthwatch, hearing impairments, Hospital food, International day, Job Opportunity, Lambeth and Southwark, Leadership conference, maudsley, Mental Health, Mind, news, NHS, NICE, Nice guidelines, osteopathy, Physiotherapy, SDA, SLaM, Southwark Disablement Association, St Thomas' Hospital, Tesco Pharmacies, Volunteer opportunities, Warwick University, Workshop |
2nd September 2013, Edition 5 Healthwatch Southwark eNews
Welcome to our E-News an update on what’s happening in your Healthwatch as well as local health and social care news and events. If you would like to be included in the next e-news, please email info@healthwatchsouthwark.co.uk
Healthwatch News
Work with us – become volunteers and supporters
We are keen to hear your views and get you on board to work with us. Volunteers will help carry out functions in promotion and engagement, research and intelligence and representation and work with us to champion better health and social care services. Supporters will receive our e-news where we will share our activities, updates and local health and care news.
To become a volunteer please download the application form here, or for an application pack email: info@healthwatchsouthwark.co.uk or call 020 7358 7005. You can also apply online here.
Thankyou once again to all of you who contributed to the launch event in June. We are on our way to setting our priorities so look out for this information, we will share it with you shortly.
Helpful Signposting Document
We have produced a signposting document which is an overview of how to find and access key health and social care services in Southwark. Download it here
Healthwatch Southwark will be at International Day for Older Persons | Tues 1 October
We will be there to give an update on Healthwatch Southwark and how you can get involved. There will also be updates on Adult Social Care and you will hear from inspirational older people about their contributions to the community. Read more.
Local News
Contact a Family drop-in afternoons
Contact a Family drop-ins are currently suspended until the start of the new school term at the beginning of September. If you do have any queries that you think Contact a Family will be able to help with, call Contact a Family on 0207 358 7799.
Southwark Focus group – have your say
St Thomas’s Hospital are revising the information on their maternity department webpages to have more information available for women and partners.. They are holding a focus group to discuss the changes with women who have used the service and will present their ideas. This will be in the antenatal education room on the 16th September. Find out more, email: Kirstie.1.coxon@kcl.ac.uk or call 07986 911814.
Mind/Mental Health Foundation report – Building resilient communities
This report calls for public health teams to incorporate mental health in their work plans. It brings together actions for public health teams, local authorities, Councillors, health and wellbeing boards, CCGs and VCS organisations to build resilient people and communities. The mental health and wellbeing work of Lambeth & Southwark’s Public Health team is highlighted within the report. Read the report here.
What service does the Southwark Disablement Association provide?
SDA is a user led organisation (DPULO) supporting disabled Adults with a disability living in Southwark. They provide services to support people to live independently and to reach their full potential including, benefits advice, volunteer support for befriending and support in the community, deaf Access support for people with hearing impairments. Read more.
Refused a service because you are disabled?
The SDA’s Independent Living group’s aim is to work together to support each other and work with private and public services to ensure everyone has equal access to services. The group also challenges negative attitudes towards people with seen and unseen disabilities. Find out meetings times here or contact: Malvina Edwards on 0207 525 5738 or email: Malvina@sdail.org.
Do you know DESMOND or DAFNE? If not, we want to hear from you!
We want to understand why some people are not attending education programmes about diabetes. Lambeth and Southwark NHS run a programme ‘DESMOND’ (for people with Type 2 diabetes) and ‘DAFNE’ (for people with Type 1 diabetes). Attending an education programme is important in helping manage the condition. Read more.
DMI – Working with GP practices to support excellent diabetes care
During June and July, 90 out of a total of 94 practices across Lambeth and Southwark worked with the DMI to complete their practice action plan to improve diabetes care. Over the next six months, the DMI will be providing a range of support to practices so they can make the changes they have identified as important to improving patient care. Read more.
National News
Information and advice to help you care for an elderly person
This is a FREE UK-focused information and sign-posting website aiming to provide everything you need to know about the care of older people. From positive ways to keep older parents, friends and relatives active, healthy and maintaining their finance and legal needs in shape, through to specific information on technology, care options, local authority funding. Read more.
Channel four documentary series on mental health
With one in four people suffer from a mental health problem, a new series explores and demystifies the most profound decisions involved in treating the mentally ill. The Maudsley takes a look at mental health in Britain today, with exclusive access to a wide range of services, patients and staff at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM). Read more.
Risk assessments at Tesco pharmacies
Throughout a partnership with Diabetes UK, Tesco will be offering diabetes risk assessments at all Tesco pharmacies.
All you need to do is visit a Tesco pharmacy, and ask to speak to someone about a diabetes risk assessment. You will be offered a full risk assessment and support. Visit your Tesco pharmacy today, and take the next step towards a healthier lifestyle. Read more.
NHS hospitals accused of ‘hiding’ food dissatisfaction
NHS hospitals in England are hiding patient dissatisfaction. The Campaign for Better Hospital Food said NHS Trusts routinely rated their own food highly. But patient surveys showed nearly half of people were dissatisfied. The campaigners want mandatory standards introduced for hospital food, like those which already exist for prisons and schools. Read more.
Public Health Annual Conference | 10-11 September 2013, Warwick University
The PHE Annual Conference will bring together over 1000 participants from local authorities, NHS, Public Health England and partner organisations who are working to protect and improve health and wellbeing and reduce inequalities. Please visit the NICE stand where the team will be on hand to answer any questions. Read more.
Recent NICE published guidance:
New quality standard for familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH). Read more.
NICE Public Board Meeting and NICE Question Time is on Wednesday 18 September. Read more.
Indicators to improve dementia care proposed for QOF 2014/15. Read more.
Local Events
FREE event to celebrate International Day of Older Persons | Tues 1 October
The event will be opened by Councilor Catherine Macdonald and Healthwatch Southwark will be there to give an update on Healthwatch Souhthwark and how you can get involved. There will also be updates on Adult Social Care and you will hear from inspirational older people about their contributions to the community. Book today.
Disability Living Allowance workshop | Tues 10 September
The Next Disability Living Allowance Workshop is being held at Cambridge House from 9.30am to 1.00pm. DLA family workers will be there to support you to complete the DLA claim form. Book into the next DLA workshop by emailing or calling the DLA on: 020 7608 8700.
A postcard to the world – one year on
Mail Art exhibition by CoolTan Arts exploring the impact and legacy of the 2012 Olympics. A year on from the opening of the Olympics, CoolTan’s final ‘A Postcard to the World’ exhibition on this theme will review the artwork created over the last year and explore responses to the legacy of the Games. It’s on until 20th September 2013. Read more.
Dulwich Park Ride | Sun 15 September
Join this free, fun, guided bike ride, perfect for all ages and abilities. Not cycled for a while and looking for an easy way to get back in the saddle? Fancy a fun way to get your friends or kids riding? Our Easygoing rides are great for building confidence for all abilities and ages along relaxed, mostly traffic-free routes. Read more.
Help us shape physiotherapy and osteopathy services in Southwark | Wed 25 September
The Southwark NHS clinical commissioning Group is holding this engagement event at 6pm at Cambridge House. If you have used these services in the last 12 months and are registered with a GP practice in Southwark they want to hear from you. To register a place email: souccg.southwark-ccg@nhs.net or call 020 7525 7188.
Influence your local NHS in Southwark | Tues 22 October
Join our public event to tell us how you think NHS Southwark CCG can best help and support people to stay healthy over the coming years. The aim is to have greater prevention and self-management and also to improve the patient experience. For more details and to book call 020 7525 7888.
Contact us
Contact the Heathwatch Southwark team:
Email: info@healthwatchsouthwark.co.uk or call: 020 7358 7005
Website: www.healthwatchsouthwark.co.uk
Jo Palmer
Communications and Events Officer
Jo Palmer | Communications and Events Officer | Community Action Southwark and Healthwatch Southwark | 1 Addington Square, Camberwell, London, SE5 0HF | t: 020 7358 7023 | f: 0845 305 2160 | www.casouthwark.org.uk
CAS are recruiting for three exciting new posts. Join the CAS team apply today!
CAS’s 2013 Governance and Leadership Conference is on Wed 6th Nov. Book today.
New rules on bidding for contracts. Read the key changes and tell us what you think.
Calling for Healthwatch Southwark volunteers – Join us today.
Join CAS | Follow CAS on twitter @casouthwark | CAS on Facebook
Become a Healthwatch Southwark Supporter | Join twitter @HWSouthwark | Join Facebook
Community Action Southwark is a registered charity (no. 1105835 and a company limited by guarantee in England and Wales (no. 5090324). Registered office address as above.
Posted: August 23, 2013 | Author: D Rosier | Filed under: News | Tags: anxiety, Bereavement, channel 4, CMHT, Community mental health team, Documentary, lambeth, lonliness, Manic depression, maudsley, news, older adults, Psychosis, relapse, SLaM, stigma, Stress, Treatment |
With one in four of us now suffering from a mental health problem, a new 4 x 60 series explores and demystifies the most profound decisions involved in treating the mentally ill.
The Maudsley (w/t) takes an in-depth and unprecedented look at mental health in Britain today, with exclusive access to a wide range of services, patients and staff at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM).
Key to the series, filmed over a year, is giving a voice to those who suffer with mental illness, from people with psychosis or manic depression to those with severe anxiety. For, although a growing number of us will experience mental illness in our lifetime, the stigma remains; it’s an unwanted label.
SLaM is the country’s best-known psychiatric trust and its services are unique, pioneering and often surprising. This is the most comprehensive access producers have ever had to any NHS mental health trust in the country.
Ralph Lee, Head of Factual at Channel 4 said: “Building on the success of last year’s 4Goes Madseason in bringing a fresh approach to mental health on television, we are delighted that the patients and staff of the Maudsley have trusted us to tell their stories for the first time.”
The series is produced by The Garden Productions (24 Hours in A&E, The Audience, Inside Claridges) and series directed by Dave Nath (Cutting Edge, The Year the Town Hall Shrank).
The Maudsley (w/t) will follow the lives of patients and their families, touching on a range of mental health conditions. Each of the four films tackles a different aspect of mental health – the big issues of today. Many people manage their illness with medication; others walk a daily tightrope with the possibility of relapsing at any time.
The cameras follow a community mental health team; the lion’s share of SLaM’s work takes place in a community setting, looking after more than 35,000 people with mental health issues.
Cameras are allowed in to Lambeth Hospital’s Triage ward for the first time. In a postcode with the highest rates of psychosis in Europe, this is the Accident and Emergency of mental health – where patients are at their most unwell. For the staff it’s all about risk management. The buck stops with psychiatrists like Dr Martin Baggaley who makes crucial decisions every day. Getting it wrong could have tragic consequences.
Anxiety has become the mental illness of our time, with seven million drug prescriptions issued every year. The Bethlem Royal Hospital’s national unit treats the most anxious people in the country – the top one per cent – and claims a success rate of three in four patients. Some are consumed by irrational fears they’ve caused a road accident in their sleep, harmed strangers or have intrusive thoughts.
The number of older people with mental health problems is estimated to increase by a third over the next 15 years to 4.3 million. Bereavement, stress and loneliness can contribute and some end up on the Maudsley Hospital’s Older Adults Ward. With a premium on bed space patients cannot stay on the ward forever but some lose the confidence to go back home and live an independent life.
It’s executive produced by Amy Flanagan and Jonathan Smith. Broadcast is scheduled for Autumn 2013.
Via http://www.channel4.com via Bridget
Posted: July 26, 2012 | Author: D Rosier | Filed under: News | Tags: blog, channel 4, Employment, news, stigma, Workplace |
Hi
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/worlds-maddest-job-interview/episode-guide/series-1/episode-1
I wondered if the above would be of interest for the blog.
I watched the first programme last night – it is still available on Channel 4 on Demand.
It was really interesting – by the end the interviewers said that before this if they had seen “sectioned” or “mental health issue” on anyone’s CV they would not have considered employing them – they now would.
Best wishes
Bridget
Posted: July 23, 2012 | Author: D Rosier | Filed under: News | Tags: channel 4, depression, maudsley hospital, mental health in the workplace, news, Ruby Wax, stigma, Workplace |
Ruby Wax will appear in a groundbreaking TV documentary this evening to highlight the problems surrounding mental illness – and she chose to film at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust as part of her drive to raise awareness.
The hour-long Channel 4 programme sees the comedian talking frankly about her own problems with depression, her mission to end stigma and encouraging people to be open about their own mental illness.
Ruby visited the Maudsley hospital twice and chatted to several service users about their issues and experiences and shared some of her own, which involved suffering huge bouts of depression. She also had a few laughs and a long chat with Professor Dinesh Bhugra, Honorary Consultant at SLaM and Professor of Mental Health and Cultural Diversity, who discussed how mental illness in the work place is more widely recognised now but there is still a “great deal of progress” to be made.
The filming was for Ruby Wax’s Mad Confessions, which is part of a week-long campaign on Channel 4 to encourage openness and tackle the stigma experienced by people with mental health problems.
To watch Ruby talking to SLaM staff and service users tune into Channel 4 tonight at 10pm.
Posted: May 15, 2012 | Author: D Rosier | Filed under: News | Tags: channel 4, Jon Richardson, Mental Health, Ruby Wax |
Channel 4 is to broadcast a season of prime time programmes designed to challenge perceptions of mental health and discrimination. The project will include a two-part prime time event and documentaries made by Ruby Wax and Jon Richardson.
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At the heart of the 4 Goes Mad season will sit an as-yet untitled two-part production that “will feature a cast of eight dynamic employees – some of whom have a mental health condition – who are out to prove the stereotypes wrong”.
The participants will take part in a number of challenges with a panel of prestigious employers deciding who they think is the most employable, based purely on their ability. A psychiatrist and psychologist will be on hand to guide the viewer through “the maze of mental health conditions”.
Channel 4 viewers will also see the eight participants appear “undercover” on some of the broadcaster’s most popular shows in the week before the programme – and footage from these appearances will be used in the main show.
Factual Commissioning Editor Lina Prestwood, who is overseeing the season, said: “This is a lively and entertaining format that will encourage viewers to see the person rather than the diagnosis.
“We’re confident that the individuals who do have a mental health problem will be indistinguishable from other contributors as they appear across the schedule and that their appearance in this series will defy deeply-ingrained assumptions about people with mental health-problems – particularly relating to their ability to work.”
Comedians Ruby Wax and Jon Richardson have also made programmes to accompany the 4 Goes Mad season, which Channel 4 has developed working closely with mental health charities including the Mental Health Foundation and Time to Change.
Wax, who herself suffers from depression, will present Ruby Wax’s Mad Confessions, a one-off hour-long documentary following a number of successful business people as they disclose mental health conditions to their employers, family and friends.
Jon Richardson: A Little Bit OCD will see the comedian explore the world of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, meeting people who live with the condition and assessing his own tendencies towards OCD.
Sue Baker, Director of Time to Change, England’s national mental health anti-stigma programme run by the charities Mind and Rethink Mental Illness, said: “It’s encouraging to see a major broadcaster tackle this deep-seated taboo. We realise that, at its heart, this is an entertainment season but we hope it will turn the spotlight onto a subject that desperately needs to be de-mystified and open it up to a much wider audience.”
Channel 4 is to launch a dedicated website to accompany the season, offering additional information about mental health conditions, and interactive elements to help engage the audience.
[Article reprinted from Radio Times]
Posted: April 26, 2012 | Author: D Rosier | Filed under: News | Tags: 4thought.tv, channel 4, Malcolm Bowden, ofcom, Rethink Mental Illness |
Thursday 26 April – The national charity Rethink Mental Illness (1) has made an official complaint to the broadcasting regular Ofcom, after Channel 4 aired the views of an evangelical Christian, claiming mental illness is a ‘behavioral problem, rooted in pride, self-centeredness and self-pity’.
Appearing on 4thought.tv on Wednesday 25 April, Malcolm Bowden claimed that depression and other mental illnesses are a ‘behavioral problem, rooted in pride, self-centeredness and self-pity’ and that ‘true Christians should not be depressed’.
Paul Jenkins, CEO of Rethink Mental Illness said:
“While of course we support free speech and open debate, we feel that Channel 4 really crossed an unacceptable line by broadcasting these harmful and ignorant views. His misinformed opinions are deeply offensive to anyone who has even a basic understanding of mental illness.
“The fact that this nonsense even made it to air, brings home how much work there still is to do in terms of breaking down the myths and stigma which still surround mental illness and why campaigns such as Time to Change (2) are so vital.
“I simply cannot imagine Channel 4 would provide this kind of platform for someone claiming that being gay, or having cancer was simply a case of being difficult and self-centered.
“To frame mental illness as a moral failing, to intentionally pile shame and guilt on people who may already be struggling to overcome these emotions, is breathtakingly insensitive.
“Not only are his views offensive, they are harmful. Suicide is the biggest killer of men under 35 in the UK. Many of these deaths could have been prevented if young men felt more able to be open about their illness. One of the most significant factors stopping them, is the fear that others will judge them as Bowden does, as self-centered or weak. To reinforce this attitude is simply dangerous.
“We are bitterly disappointed that Channel 4 has given a prime time, unchallenged platform to such harmful, offensive views. As a responsible broadcaster, they have a duty to break down the myths which surround mental illness, not reinforce them.”
ENDS
For more information, please contact Rachel Whitehead, News and Media Manager for Rethink Mental Illness on 0207 840 3138 or email Rachel.whitehead@rethink.org
Notes to editors
1.Rethink Mental Illness is a charity that believes a better life is possible for millions of people affected by mental illness.
For 40 years we have brought people together to support each other. We run services and support groups that change people’s lives and challenge attitudes about mental illness.
We directly support almost 60,000 people every year across England to get through crises, to live independently and to realise they are not alone.
We give information and advice to 500,000 more and we change policy for millions.
For more information go to http://www.rethink.org
2. Time to Change is England’s most ambitious programme to end the stigma and discrimination faced by people with mental health problems. The programme is run by the charities Mind and Rethink Mental Illness, and funded by the Department of Health and Comic Relief.
For more information go to http://www.time-to-change.org.uk
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