HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS British Journal of Psychiatry Advances in Psychiatric Treatment All RCPsych Journals		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit an eLetter View responses Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via CrossRef Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by White, A. Articles by Callaghan, R. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by White, A. Articles by Callaghan, R.

Barriers to mental healthcare for psychiatrists

Queen Elizabeth Psychiatric Hospital, Mindelsohn Way, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2QZ, email: alfred.white{at}bsmht.nhs.uk

Purushottam Shiralkar, Specialist Registrar in Psychiatry

Queen Elizabeth Psychiatric Hospital, Birmingham

Tariq Hassan, Staff Grade in Psychiatry

Newbridge House, Birmingham

Niall Galbraith, Research Fellow

Division of Health in the Community, Warwick Medical School, Coventry

Rhiannon Callaghan, Specialist Registrar in Psychiatry

Queen Elizabeth Psychiatric Hospital, Birmingham

Declaration of interest

None.

AIMS AND METHOD

To determine the opinions of psychiatrists on mental illness among themselves and their colleagues a postal survey was conducted across the West Midlands.

RESULTS

Most psychiatrists (319/370, 86.2%) would be reluctant to disclose mental illness to colleagues or professional organisations (323/370, 87.3%). Their choices regarding disclosure and treatment would be influenced by issues of confidentiality (n=245, 66%), stigma (n=83, 22%) and career implications (n=128, 35%) rather than quality of care (n=60, 16%).

CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS

The stigma associated with mental illness remains prevalent among the psychiatric profession and may prevent those affected from seeking adequate treatment and support. Appropriate, confidential specialist psychiatric services should be provided for this vulnerable group, and for doctors as a whole, to ensure that their needs, and by extension those of their patients, are met.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				D. J. Bartram and D. S. Baldwin Veterinary surgeons and suicide: influences, opportunities and research directions Vet Rec., January 12, 2008; 162(2): 36 - 40. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T. Harrison, C. Cook, M. Robertson, and J. Willey Work-related stress and the psychiatrist: a case study Psychiatr. Bull., October 1, 2006; 30(10): 385 - 387. [Full Text] [PDF]

eLetters: