Older mental health patients 'suffer discrimination'

Older people with psychiatric problems are more likely to be discriminated against than younger people with the same conditions.

This is the opinion of Dr Rick Norris, author of Think Yourself Happy and a chartered psychologist, who believes that the problem is particularly acute when it comes to employment issues.

He explained that employers tend to give younger mental health patients the "benefit of the doubt" simply because they have less life experience.

"I think there is an expectation that the older we get, the more we ought to be able to deal with life events," Dr Norris said.

He added that despite high profile awareness campaigns, older psychiatric patients still suffer a stigma in the workplace.

His comments follow those of Karen Jackson, solicitor and managing partner at Didlaw, who stated that depression can have a significant impact on a person's performance at work.

She added that poor memory, concentration and sleep habits are all symptoms of depression.

Private mental health treatment news: 28 January 2012