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Alison J Gray,
Senior Registrar Psychiatry
Queen Elizabeth Psychiatric Hospital, Edgbbaston Birmingham B15 2QZ
Send response to journal:
Re:
Setting our own house in order
Email Alison J Gray:
[email protected]
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I really appreciated the editorial on discrimination, particularly the
fact that it included discrimination on grounds of previous mental
illness. This form of discrimination is often not recognised and has major
consequences for the individuals involved and their families(1.) On going
work in London has shown that people who have experienced major mental
illnesses can be helped to return to work and that they commonly then have
a lower sickness absence rate than those without such an experience (2.)
So how did it happen then that such forward looking and positive words
were printed in the BMJ at the same time as the BMA news contained a
"joke" using the terms "Hysterias " "Nuts",
and "Loon" (3.)? The "joke" was witty but that does
not justify the use of offensive language. I think there should be a
review of the contents of the "doctor doctor" joke section, this
is not the first "joke" that has been at the expense of people
experiencing mental distress. The BMJ can do better.
Dr Alison J Gray, MRCPsych
1. Gray AJ. Stigma in Psychiatry. Journal of the Royal Society of
medicine 2002, 95:72-76
2. Perkins R, Buckfield R, Choy D. Access to employment: a supported
employment project to enable mental heatlh service users to obtain jobs
within mental health teams. J ment Health 1997, 6; 307-318
3. Doctor doctor... BMA news review May 22, 2002, page 15.
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