Stigma in Occupational Health

I have just applied for two jobs in Occupational Health for which I was well qualified, and one at least said I interviewed well. Nonetheless, no success!

The trouble is, that I got above myself during the interviews and mentioned the "B word" - (ie Bipolar disorder). It is difficult to explain my Curriculum Vitae without doing so. Why would I leave a successful career in neurosurgery and end up in Occupational Health? at least not without a large brood of children. It is not a natural progression. And why the Book? Nonetheless, mentioning the B word, in the eyes of Occupational Health Physicians, disqualifies me from paid employment - and certainly not as one of them!

Occupational Health and Psychiatry seem to be the two medical specialties most steeped in prejudice. These specialities run on opinion, rather than objective tests. More than any other, their professional judgements rely solely on professional prejudices, which surface quickly and easily. Both would rather employ a donkey with no brain than a doctor who admits to a mental health problem.

Admitting a mental health problem shows a gross lack of insight. Not unlike telling a Palestinian you are Jewish, or a Gorbals Catholic, you are a Protestant - best not done unless you are wearing running shoes. The reaction of an Occupational Health Physician to mental health problems is to make the sign of the cross and backpedal fast in the opposite direction whilst throwing garlic over their left shoulder.

I half expect them to refer me to the GMC for having the temerity to apply for their "nice" job!

My fault of course, I mentioned my "disability" at the interview.

Lesson: Never tell anyone anything they do not need to know.♠

Don't get mad Get equal treatment

Don't get mad, Get equal treatment is a campaign against stigma in the NHS. 

For too long, I have replied to letters emails detailing medical attitudes and treatment mistakes based on a patient's mental health history with spineless and useless platitudes.  

In 2008 I was voted Mind Mental Health Champion because of my work with the Doctors' Support Network. The Doctors' Support Network was set up to tackle discrimination based on mental health within the medical profession. There have been some successes and some failures. 

The successes are 

1 - acknowledgement of the existence of poor mental health within the medical profession 

2 - limited protection for such doctors within the NHS through occupational health

3 - an active network offering support to such doctors 

The failures are 

1 - the unquestioned right of doctors to make abusive comments about patients with mental health problems and doctors with mental health problems 

2 - the General Medical Council's attitude to doctors with mental health problems, whereby doctors are brought before a quasi-judicial tribunal and forced with the aid of a barrister and solicitor, to prove that they are of sound mind 

3 - the failure to challenge the attitudes of doctors towards colleagues and patients with mental health problems

The purpose of this blog is to start to right those wrongs and to provide a forum for people who have been medically discriminated against on account of their mental health history. 

If you want to post your story - add it to the comments section, if you want to make a post - email me, and I will add your name to the list of people who can post here. 

People with poor mental health and mental health problems are valued members of society as much as any other group, whether disabled or belonging to an ethnic, religious or cultural minority. 

Yes we want integration and we want integration for everyone. 

My mission is to "Change the way we manage our mental and physical health and have some fun whilst so doing" 

This campaign starts in my back garden, with the medical profession