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Emotive documentary sparks mental health debate

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Family tragedy prompts moving film

Emotive documentary sparks mental health debate British documentary-maker Julian Hendy received a devastating telephone call on Sunday 29^th April, 2007. His father, Philip, 75, had been stabbed by a stranger while paying for his newspapers at a local shop in Bristol.

Despite surviving for more than a week after the attack, Mr Hendy Snr died as a result. In an article for the Daily Mail, his son states: "He died as I held his hand on the evening of May 8^th."

This event led Julian to begin a project which would take nearly three years to realise - a film about the events which led to his father's death. The documentary, entitled Why Did You Kill My Dad? was screened by BBC2 on Monday March 1^st, 2010.

Mr Hendy's film has been praised for being well made, thoroughly researched and highly moving by critics from newspapers such as the Guardian, Daily Mirror and Independent.

However, it has also sparked debate due to the emotive and controversial nature of its content, for Philip Hendy was killed by Steven Newton, a man known by the authorities to have serious mental health issues.

In the film, Julian Hendy questions whether mental health services in the UK are doing enough to protect the public from people with psychotic conditions who also display signs of aggression.

Mental health and violence

Mr Hendy is careful to point out in his film that most people with mental health conditions are in no way dangerous to members of the public.

However, he then proceeds to interview a series of families who have been affected by the death of a loved one at the hands of a person with severe mental health problems.

It is this format which some mental health organisations have argued could lead to the perception that Britain's mental health services are routinely letting potentially dangerous people walk the streets.

As the Daily Mirror's television critic Jane Simon states: "When Jim and Judy Cargill say they don't blame the man who murdered their son Ben, but the Mental Health Trust who were supposed to be caring for him, it's impossible not to agree."

But Rethink chief executive Paul Jenkins says the vast majority of people living with mental health conditions are perfectly capable of living in a law-abiding manner. He also pointed out that such people are more likely to be victims of violent crimes than perpetrators.

Mr Jenkins comments: "Julian Hendy's documentary raises important issues [and] no-one can watch the families talking about their grief without feeling immense sympathy.

"However, it only tells a handful of stories, which cannot explain the reality of life for the 630,000 people with a severe mental illness across the country."

Living with a serious mental health condition

Mr Jenkins' view is echoed by Dolly Sen in an article for the Guardian. Ms Sen is a film student and mental health campaigner who also has a mental health condition considered to be severe.

Ms Sen was originally diagnosed with schizophrenia, which was recently re-classified as bipolar, both of which are considered forms of psychotic illness. However, while she says she has experienced symptoms such as hallucinations, delusions and paranoia, these have never manifested themselves in a violent fashion.

She believes Mr Hendy's documentary does not make it clear enough that those cases in which severe mental health conditions are accompanied by violent thoughts or actions are extremely rare.

Ms Sen states: "The documentary doesn't explain that violence is not a symptom of severe mental illness; nor does it address the real problems behind some of these cases.

"The biggest factor that increases the risk of violence is drug and alcohol misuse. Once you take that away, people with schizophrenia are no more likely to be violent than anyone else."

Ms Sen also makes the point that while the film is undoubtedly affecting, it fails to show both sides of cases where mental health provision fails to adequately care for those few patients who display signs of aggression.

She states: "People in crisis and their families often ask for help from mental health services and receive none.

"These experiences are tragic for them too, but we don't meet these victims in Hendy's film."

Difficult questions

For Mr Hendy, the purpose of making his documentary was clear - he wanted to find out why his father died and if anything could have been done to prevent it.

One of the issues he raises in his documentary is whether a widespread concern among healthcare professionals about further stigmatising those with mental health issues has led to a culture of silence. This, he argues has resulted in a reluctance to discuss incidences involving violence, meaning lessons are not learnt by local authorities.

In his Daily Mail article, he states: "Mental health is full of euphemisms these days. I found that people aren't mentally ill anymore - they are 'service users'. There are no deaths; instead there are 'adverse events' or 'serious untoward incidents'."

However, it is precisely this fear of being stigmatised and branded violent which Sue Baker, Director of Time to Change, says often prevents people with severe mental health problems from seeking support in the first place.

She states: "We know that this stereotype has prevented people from disclosing serious mental health problems and getting the treatment they need."

Mind Chief Executive Paul Farmer agrees, stating there is a common misconception among the general public that people with mental health conditions are more likely to be violent, a perception which he says is entirely misguided.

In an interview with Mr Hendy, he said: "There are around six stranger homicides by people with mental health problems a year.

"[However], over a third of the public think that people with mental health problems are prone to violence which is hugely disproportionate to the actual risk."

Are mental health services doing enough?

The recurrent question which arises throughout Why Did You Kill My Dad? is whether mental health services are doing enough to keep the public safe from the few patients with mental health conditions who may pose a threat to others.

And there does appear to be a general consensus among many of the mental health organisations and charities who have commented on the programme that more could be done to improve care provision.

Mr Farmer states: "We cannot allow inquiries to be mere tokenism; there must be visible action when recommendations are made and best practice should be shared by agencies across the country."

Mind is urging the government to make mental healthcare provision a key issue of its election manifesto, given as much prominence as physical health care currently enjoys.

Mr Jenkins agrees. He says: "We must design a mental health system that responds when people and their families ask for help and is proactive if people disengage in treatment."

He too echoes Mr Farmer's call for political parties to become more active in outlining their approach to mental healthcare in the run up to the general election.

However, the final word must go to Mr Hendy, who states in his Daily Mail article: "If the public had confidence that mental health services were dealing effectively with the common problems, then most families would understand that their loved one's death was not preventable and that everything had been done that could have been done."

Samaritans

If you are experiencing suicidal thoughts or emotional distress, you can call Samaritans for support 24 hours on 08457 90 90 90 (UK) and 1850 60 90 90 (ROI), or email at jo@samaritans.org, or face to face - visit http://www.samaritans.org/ for your nearest branch.