Stigma – join the debate

Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust is calling on Rochdale residents to share their views and experiences about stigma towards mental health.

The Trust is conducting a survey to find out what local patients, service users, carers and the public think about mental health and whether they have ever been discriminated against because of a mental health condition.

Pennine Care provides community and mental health services in the boroughs of Rochdale, Bury and Oldham, as well as mental health services in Stockport, Tameside and Glossop. 

Henry Ticehurst, Medical Director at Pennine Care, said: “Stigma can have a significant negative impact on a person’s health and wellbeing, so it’s really important that we understand more about what local people think the key issues are and where we can provide the most help. We want to understand more about the challenges and issues facing our patients, so that we can provide more support and improve the quality of the services we provide.

“It’s the first time the Trust has conducted a stigma survey on this scale and we want to hear from a range of different people about what they think stigma is, whether they have experienced it and what we can do to help stop it.”

You can take part in the survey by visiting www.penninecare.nhs.uk/stigmadebate
The results will be published in the new year.