Danni Perry’s flag display at the Royal Opera House sparked 182 performers to sign a solidarity letter that cancelled the Tel Aviv Tosca production, while Leonardo DiCaprio invests in Tel Aviv hotels, reports LINDA PENTZ GUNTER
Discrimination and stigma from diagnosis to death
RUTH HUNT looks at why those with a severe mental illness, who can die up to a decade younger than others, need better understanding and support when accessing all forms of healthcare
YANA PETTICREW explains what’s behind the strike and how the entire sector rests on super-exploiting an unorganised workforce
STEPHEN ARNELL casts a critical eye over the sudden rash of challenges to the two-party system on both sides of the Atlantic, noting that today’s performative populist politics sadly lacks Roosevelt’s progressive ‘Bull Moose’ vision of the early 20th century
BILL KIDD MSP says increasing Britain’s nuclear arsenal at this time is dangerous and expensive folly
ROGER McKENZIE asks whether the US’s shift to targeting everyone at once will instil greater co-operation among rising powers
THE pandemic and lockdowns have focused minds on the mental health of the nation, with a strong focus on what is happening with the young. But the difficulties faced by those with a severe mental illness (SMI) have been long in the making, with stigma affecting them whether they are at the start or the end of their lives.
Stigma permeates all aspects of life, so while there has been a lot of focus on combatting it within some aspects of society, the destructive power within the medical community has not had the same attention.
Such problems can be present from both mental health staff and those medics treating someone with a physical complaint who they know also has a mental health diagnosis, leading to what is called “diagnostic overshadowing.” This is when a patient has a diagnosis, for example depression and there is a tendency for any other health problems to be attributed to that condition.
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By making Personal Independence Payments harder to access, Labour is creating another barrier for those already struggling with soaring care costs, workplace discrimination and prejudiced employers, argues RUTH HUNT
The NHS continues to say Covid spreads primarily through ‘droplet and touch’ while the WHO emphasises airborne transmission, meaning vulnerable patients and healthcare workers face unnecessary risks, reports RUTH HUNT
Behind the Samaritans’ promise to always listen, callers face secret restrictions and automated blocks while the charity admits setting limits without clearly warning ‘frequent’ users they risk getting cut off — or why, writes RUTH HUNT
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