Ruby Wax and Jo Brand join forces with Stephen Fry and Alastair Campbell to back award-winning mental health campaign #Choose Psychiatry…
The Royal College of Psychiatrists has launched a new campaign to encourage medical students and newly qualified doctors to #ChoosePsychiatry and help people with severe mental illness live a fulfilling life.
Jo Brand, comedian and former psychiatric nurse:
“As an ex mental health nurse from 1978 to 1988, I have witnessed and attest to the importance and invaluable contribution of psychiatrists. Particularly now, when the fallout from Covid has affected so many younger people in psychologically damaging ways, I think it is essential to see more psychiatrists in the profession and would wholeheartedly encourage more medical students to go into what is a very rewarding area of work.”
The call to action is being backed by award-winning actor and presenter Stephen Fry, communicator and strategist Alastair Campbell, and comedians Ruby Wax and Jo Brand who are highlighting the important and valuable role psychiatrists have played in their own lives.
Now in its eighth year, the campaign has significantly increased the number of doctors choosing to train or work in psychiatry. More doctors need to continue to choose psychiatry for their careers.
With an increasing number of people in need of mental health treatment each year, the #ChoosePsychiatry campaign is as important than ever. There is no indication this demand will reduce, as an estimated 1.6 million referrals to community-based services in England were waiting for treatment at the end of March 2024. As mental health problems become more prevalent, psychiatrists are playing an increasingly important role in the health of the nation.
Stephen Fry, Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists:
“Young people preparing for medical careers are realising more and more that the most exciting frontier in medicine is the human mind. But its study is more than just an intellectual challenge, it is a pathway to a life in psychiatry – the specialism that fights on the front line in our war against mental illness.
“I know I can say with absolute truth that psychiatry saved my life at its lowest moment. I don’t believe I would be here today if it were not for the psychiatrist who rescued me. The smartest and most caring minds are needed in this field and – happily – the trend towards choosing psychiatry as a speciality has lately been upward, upward, upward.”
