Asda 'deeply sorry' for selling 'mental patient' costume
Asda been forced to apologise for selling a fancy dress outfit featuring someone covered in blood as a "mental patient" costume.
One in three teenagers need help for depression
One in three teenagers have felt so depressed that they needed help, a Daybreak survey has revealed.
Schizophrenia care falling 'catastrophically short'
A new report has warned that care for people with schizophrenia and psychosis is falling "catastrophically short."
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Police: Mentally ill get same 'high quality service'
Mentally ill people receive the same "high quality service" as any other victim of crime, a senior police officer has said.
Commander Christine Jones who is the lead on mental health for the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) was defending the force after research found mentally ill people were more likely to complain about their treatment by police than anyone else.
– Commander Christine Jones, Association of Chief Police OfficersAnyone reporting a crime against them expects to be listened to, taken seriously and treated with respect.
They also expect appropriate action to be taken to investigate their case and to be signposted to further support if they need it.
We want to ensure that people with mental ill health get that same, high quality service from the police if they have been a victim of crime.
Police treatment of mentally ill a 'national scandal'
The police have come under fire for their treatment of the severely mentally ill, after a survey exposed the number of unwell people who feel let down by police.
Victim Support, one of the charities behind the research, said neglect of the mentally ill by the criminal justice system was "unacceptable" and "nothing short of a national scandal".
– Victim Support chief executive Javed KhanIt is nothing short of a national scandal that some of the most vulnerable people in our society become victims of crime so often and yet when they seek help they are met with disbelief or even blame.
It is unacceptable that the criminal justice system fails to meet the needs of people with mental health problems when this report shows all too clearly the terrible impact of crime on them.
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Mentally ill 'three times' more likely to be crime victims
People with severe mental illness are three times move likely to be a victim of any crime, according to a report on the mentally ill, police and illegal activity.
- They were five times more likely to experience assault than a person who was sane.
- Women with severe mental illness were 10 times more likely to experience assault.
- Over two-thirds, 62%, of women questioned reported being victims of sexual violence as an adult.
- Nearly 45% of people with severe mental illness reported being the victim of crime in the last year.
Mentally ill 'more likely' to report bad police behaviour
People suffering from severe mental illness are "significantly more likely" to report unfair or disrespectful behaviour from the police, new research has shown.
A report by a number of leading mental health charities found many people suffering from severe conditions like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and clinical depression were also reluctant to report dismissive behaviour.
They feared their illness would be used to discredit their complaint and were scared of being sectioned and sent to a psychiatric facility.
Mind's chief executive Paul Farmer said: "It is unacceptable that the police, healthcare staff and others who are supposed to support victims of crime may be dismissive of or not believe a person's experience, or may even blame them for the crime."
Research was collected using a survey and compiled by Charity Victim Support, the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London, Mind, Kingston University and St George's, University of London, and University College London.
Bruno: 'Psycho' fancy dress outfits were 'terrible'
Boxing legend Frank Bruno has condemned the supermarket sales of fancy dress costumes that presented mental health patients as bloodthirsty maniacs.
"I don't know how they went to the board meeting and put that all out," he said during an appearance on ITV's Daybreak.
Asked about his own mental health, Bruno said he was in a "very good place" after his own well-publicised battles with extreme bi-polar disorder.
Asda donate £25,000 to Mind after outfit row
Chief executive of mental health charity Mind Paul Farmer said that Asda will donate £25,000 to the organisation after selling a 'mental patient' fancy dress costume.
The official Twitter account of Mind wrote:
.@paulfarmermind says that @asda will donate £25k and that it will go to our @timetochange with @rethink_
Read: Asda 'deeply sorry' for selling 'mental patient' fancy dress costume
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Mind: Asda's costume 'staggeringly offensive'
Asda have shown themselves to be extremely misguided with their ‘mental health patient’ fancy dress costume.
It is staggeringly offensive to the one in four of us affected by mental health problems and our families and friends, and troubling that some businesses are still so out of touch with the public mood.
– Sue Baker, Director of Time to Change, run by Mind and Rethink Mental IllnessHowever it is encouraging to see the groundswell of outcry on Twitter and that our voices are being heard.
We hope this will urge Asda as well as other retailers and manufacturers to review their processes and consider taste and decency on mental health grounds, to avoid fuelling stigma and discrimination that are so damaging for large numbers of the population.
Read: Asda 'deeply sorry' for selling 'mental patient' fancy dress costume
Tesco removes 'Psycho Ward' fancy dress costume
A Tesco spokesperson told ITV News they have removed a fancy dress costume called "Psycho Ward" from their website and apologised "for any offence caused".
A spokesperson said: "We're really sorry for any offence this has caused and we are removing this product from sale.”
Read: Asda 'deeply sorry' for selling 'mental patient' fancy dress costume
Tesco sells fancy dress costume called 'Psycho Ward'
Asda has been criticised by charities for its 'mental patient' fancy dress costume but they are not the only major retailer selling outfits based on mental health issues.
Tesco sells a bright orange adult costume called "Psycho Ward" which has the word "committed" printed on the back.
The website's description of the costume says: "Dress up as the most thrilling psycho killer character of all time in this Psycho Ward costume, consisting of a bright orange, long-sleeved boiler suit with zip fastener to front 'Psycho Ward' printed on the chest.
"The same words (are) printed on the back in larger letters with a prominent 'Committed' stamp just below."
ITV News has asked Tesco for a comment but they have not yet responded.
Read: Asda 'deeply sorry' for selling 'mental patient' fancy dress costume
Campaigner: Asda 'crossed the line' on fancy dress outfit
A campaigner for the mental health charity Mind told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that Asda "crossed the line" after selling a 'mental patient' fancy dress costume.
– Sue Baker, campaigner for mental health charity MindNine out of 10 people using mental health services in patient care report stigma and discrimination from a range of sources.
Stigma and discrimination is unfortunately still really damaging in England today and this kind of myth of the dangerousness posed by people, that you should be scared of anyone who has used mental health services, is really damaging.
(Asda) certainly crossed the line here and I hear it might well have been changed with the addition of mental patient, so it was definitely being used to tap into negative stereotypes.
Read: Asda 'deeply sorry' for selling 'mental patient' fancy dress costume
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