Tory candidate ‘suggests mentally ill people should wear wristbands’
Harry Readhead for Metro.co.uk
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A Conservative parliamentary candidate has apparently suggested that mental health patients should wear wristbands to identify their conditions.
Chamali Fernando, who is the Tory candidate for Cambridge, said at a hustings event hosted by the campaign group Keep Our NHS Public that wearing a wristband to indicate the nature of a mentally ill person’s condition would be helpful to professionals to whom certain people cannot explain their condition.
Her comments were met with outrage.
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‘I can think of another period of history where minorities were asked to identify themselves,’ wrote Timothy Sykes on Twitter.
‘How about a yellow star or pink triangle on their clothes…’ added Simon Brown.
Political bloggers questioned whether the alleged comments by Ms. Fernando, a barrister with 12 years experience, were reflective of the Conservative party’s view on mental health or were her own personal views.
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Her words were called ‘shocking’ and she was accused of seeking to further isolate people whose conditions are already stigmatised.
‘She said as a barrister she would like to be able to help mentally ill people and suggested there should be more training for people in these kind of positions in common mental health conditions,’ said political blogger Richard Taylor.
‘She then said suggested a different coloured wristband for each mental health condition for those who are unable to communicate their conditions.
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‘This would immediately cause others to be prejudiced towards someone because you’ve given them a colour coding.’
Julian Huppert, who is the Lib Dem candidate and former Cambridge MP, said there was already ‘far too much discrimination against mental health’.
‘I hope Chamali regrets her comments,’ he said.
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But Ms. Fernando hit back, accusing Mr. Taylor of ‘distorting commentary for his self-publicity purposes’ and ‘taking her words out of context’.
In a statement to the Cambridge News, she said: ‘The question that was asked is how could the authorities such as the police better deal with mental health issues.
‘At Cambridge National Autistic Hustings the chairman of CNAS said he carries a green card in his wallet to identify his condition.
‘There are people who have come into contact with the police and due to an underlying mental health condition are unable to communicate their condition.
‘It was not that they should wear a wristband. That would be draconian.’
Mr. Taylor responded by posting a full transcript of her words.
