Tory candidate rapped over mental health ID wristbands

By 14th April 2015News EnglandLearning Disabilities, Mental Health, News England, Vulnerable Adults

A Conservative candidate’s suggestion that people with mental health issues could wear identifying wristbands to help ensure they are not unfairly dealt with by authorities has been attacked by opponents.

At a hustings in Cambridge, Chamali Fernando said the move could help police, medical and legal professionals understand otherwise apparently obstructive behaviour of someone unable to explain themselves.

The barrister said that she was not trained to deal with situations such as people in custody not getting the treatment they need and called for more to be done.

“Maybe it’s something as simple as there are certain conditions which are more common, where people can wear a wristband to identify they have that condition, so that then we can perhaps, not diagnose, but spot it earlier and ensure that we deal with it,” she was reported to have said.

Liberal Democrats – who are defending a 6,792 majority in the city – called the remarks “outrageous”.

But Ms Fernando said her comments had been distorted for political ends and the Conservatives insisted she was not making the “draconian” suggestion of compulsory wristbands.

Lib Dem Health Minister Norman Lamb said: “I’m absolutely horrified at this frankly outrageous suggestion that people with mental health problems should be forced to wear wristbands.

“This follows the launch of a manifesto where the Tories are again threatening to reduce benefits for people who reject forced mental health treatment.

“It seems like once again we’re seeing the same old Tories with archaic attitudes to mental health that will only entrench stigma and make people’s lives more difficult.”

Her Lib Dem rival Julian Huppert said: “I hope Chamali regrets her comments and will think carefully about her attitude to mental illness in the future.”

The comment came after the chairman of the city’s National Autistic Society said he carried a green card in his wallet to identify his condition, a local Tory spokesman said.

“Chamali Fernando gave the example of how people are wrongly accused of obstructing the course of justice for failure to co-operate with the police through no fault of their own and in those instances an identifier could prove useful.

“It would be a matter of individual choice and through consultation with experts and would need to be accompanied with the requisite training for health care and law enforcement professionals.”