Mental health nursing: challenging stigma and discrimination towards people experiencing a mental illness

During a recent conversation, a colleague described a derogatory remark made to her by a health professional. The remark, which was made in an official capacity, questioned, perhaps even refuted, one of the most basic human rights for people diagnosed with a mental illness. I would like to relay the entire comment but cannot at the risk of breaching confidentiality. My first response to the statement was one of indignation and anger. With the benefit of time to reflect, my reaction became more one of concern and disappointment, that despite the rhetoric and a plethora of impressive policy documents, we sometimes appear to have made so little gain in reducing the stigma of, and discrimination against, people experiencing a mental illness. While one example should probably not spark so strong a reaction, I am sure we are all aware that this is not an isolated example. In February this year, the Melbourne media came alive in response to a leaked letter from the medical director of a major Melbourne hospital. In essence, the letter suggested that a crisis in the availability of mental health beds had resulted in large numbers of mental health service users disrupting the smooth operation of the general health care system. Emergency departments in particular, were described as ‘holding bays’ for ‘a flood of psychiatric patients’. Mental health consumers were portrayed as disturbed and aggressive, with a strong underlying assumption that they were accessing services at the expense of others more deserving, namely, the physically ill and injured.