Mental Health

Debate between Charles Walker and Madeleine Moon

Thursday 16th May 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Walker]

The hon. Gentleman makes an excellent point. Patients need a voice and an advocate, and often—not always, but often—a family member is best placed to do that. The patient’s wishes should be respected.

[Mrs Moon]

I wanted to follow up on the same issue as the Minister. In preparing for this debate, I received many e-mails from people who had to become experts in the condition in the hope of protecting a family member from exactly the sort of abuse that the hon. Gentleman is talking about. The fear that carers feel when a loved-one comes into contact with the health services, which should be there to protect them and aid them in their passage through their illness, should not exist. That fear should not add to the trauma of their treatment. That is something we have to address.

[Mr Walker]

It is not a crime to be ill. It is not a crime to have cancer, it is not a crime to have heart disease and it should not be a crime to have a mental health illness. What we need is compassion.