A recent BBC article has dealt another blow to perceptions of those living with mental health problems.
The article reports that very few GPs refuse to issue a fit note for mental health concerns. It includes the usual lazy tropes, focusing on instances of “patients becoming aggressive” if they were refused help. In a related video, the reporter talks about people “milking the system“.
It’s easy for media articles to stoke prejudice against people living with mental health needs. Or mistrust of those facing a crisis that has impacted their mental health. We’re often left with an image of people gaming the NHS to get time off work.
The comments under the BBC article show that this was exactly what happened.
Of course, the journalists will shrug their shoulders as if they have nothing to do with this. They will say that it’s just what GPs are telling them.
But would the doctors who responded to the BBC have approved of this article? Of course, primary care professionals are concerned about their rising workload and the impact it has on their ability to offer care. They also worry about a secondary care system that, despite the efforts of those working in it, often struggles to offer timely support. However, it is doubtful that they would have wanted these concerns to result in increased stigma against their patients.
Maybe that is why only 15% of the doctors invited by the BBC to take part did so? Medical professionals’ trust in the media is low, especially where mental health is concerned.
The BBC article and video lacked balance. This could have been achieved by the inclusion of lived experience. We are fortunate in the UK to have people willing to tell their story. To advise on service access from the perspective of those needing to access them. To add a healthy dose of reality. But these experienced voices were omitted.
The article also lacked context. There was no reference to the recent Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey. This found that one in seven adults with severe mental health symptoms, and who request treatment, do not receive it. And that a quarter of those with an unmet treatment request receive no other form of mental health medication or therapy. That’s the reality, not what was conveyed in the article.
Recent research shows mental health stigma is on the increase in the UK. It directly cites the cause as media reinforcement of beliefs that people with mental health conditions are ‘workshy’ or ‘violent’.
In a brief article and video, the BBC managed to squeeze in both of those harmful stereotypes.
Reinforcing mental health stigma makes things worse for everyone. It can discourage people from getting help. It can stop them finding employment or housing. It can cause isolation and community tension. It can also lead people to lose trust in health professionals, making their jobs harder than they already are. Literally no one benefits from it.
This is surely not worth the clicks and engagement that media ‘rage bait’ so readily delivers.
Lisa McNally is Director of Public Health for Worcestershire County Council and Honorary Professor at University of Birmingham.