The Faculty Of Patient Safety is working alongside the North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board (NENC ICB) to share a message about stigma and addiction across the region.
Stigma Kills is a campaign created by the NHS Addictions Provider Alliance, a collaborative of addiction services working to ensure quality, knowledge, and care in addiction services across the UK.
The digital campaign asks health and social care workers, and the public too, to 'see the person, hear their story.'
Sarah Hulse is the Strategic Manager for Alcohol, across the full North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care System, and she is leading the team bringing the campaign to our region. She said:
"Our attitudes to addiction, and specifically the prejudiced ways we can think about people living with addiction, can have very tragic, real-life consequences.
"By asking health and care workers to look carefully at how they perceive addiction, asking them to understand it as an illness rather than a choice, the Stigma Kills campaign hopes to change both beliefs and behaviours."
The campaign urges people to 'Stop using words that hurt and isolate people, start thinking about why someone might be ill, and ask how you can help.' Designed to reach both health and care workers, and the public, it highlights how stigma and judgement can leave people alone with no access to the help they desperately need.
Tackling stigma is key to providing the great care people need as they recover from addiction. In this specially commissioned Stigma Kills video, regional Alcohol Care Team nurses and service users explain why and share their personal experiences.
For further information on supporting Stigma Kills please contact Senior Communications Officer, Chloe Corkhill: chloe.corkhill1@nhs.net
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