The Communications Team at Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust (OBMH) has been short-listed for a prestigious British Medical Journal (BMJ) award. The team were nominated for their Stamping Out Stigma campaign, launched in September 2008, which aims to tackle discrimination faced by people experiencing mental ill health.

OBMH wants to make sure some of the myths around mental ill health are corrected, so people can be open without fear of the implications. The theme of the campaign is ‘Don’t turn your back on mental health’ and it has four strands covering the employment of those with a mental health history, the use of damaging language, the risk of suicide in the socially isolated, and the risks of drug and substance misuse to those with mental illness. Posters have been on buses across Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, in cinema wash rooms and sent to local schools, colleges and employers.

Julie Waldron, Chief Executive, said “People now recognise it is unacceptable to be racist or sexist, and would never use damaging language about someone suffering from cancer, heart disease, or any other long term physical condition. We want to make sure that people realise it is discriminatory and unfair to treat people differently on the basis of their mental health.”

The OBMH Communications Team have been short-listed for the BMJ Corporate Social Responsibility award which recognises organisations that have shown outstanding and effective commitment to the greater good of society. Winners will be announced at the BMJ Awards Ceremony on 2nd April