Problem
Reflect and respond to the feedback clients reported in focus groups on the topic of how stigma impacted their access to service:
People with lived experience sometimes report overhearing staff make disparaging remarks about them while they are waiting to receive service. They are called names and jokes are made about their situation when healthcare workers think that the clients are out of earshot. Use of terms like "frequent flyers," "problem patients" or "heavy users" is perceived to be disrespectful and discriminatory.
Clients report feeling that they have to be "suicidal" before they are taken seriously and receive treatment in hospital emergency departments: "The urgency or acuity of mental health and addiction crises is not recognized, and requests for assistance when symptoms escalate are often ignored until finally an individual's behaviour mimics the intense pain they are experiencing and then harsh interventions are applied such as sedation, seclusion, restraint."
Consider the following questions:
A. What do you think about staff making disparaging remarks about clients? Do you think there is a place for this type of discrimination? Why or why not?
B. What, if any, aspects of this feedback cause you to wonder if stigma is affecting access to care for people with mental health and addiction problems?
C. From your personal experience, can you think of a time when a client was sent away without access to services because of the stigma associated with the problems the client was facing?