£40,000 NHS Poster a ‘waste of time’

An NHS Trust which spent £40,000 on poster printing and design has been criticised for being patronising, according to The Telegraph.

The posters, which are aimed at the mentally ill, all carry the slogan ‘turn that frown upside down’. They have been put up at bus shelters and have been branded a waste of time.

Oxford Primary Care Trust also created postcards with the same message, but Sue Holden, secretary of the Barton Community Association, said it was a misguided campaign.

She said: “I’m not sure it’s the right approach. I don’t think the campaign is intended to be patronising but it might well be perceived that way. I think people will think it’s all right for them to be happy, they haven’t got out problems.”

Becky Hitch, a health improvement practitioner at NHS Oxfordshire, said the NHS Trust used focus groups to help decide where to direct the campaign, according to the Oxford Mail. She said: “These are the areas where people typically experience difficult lives. There are high levels of unemployment, relationship difficulties, young families, poor diet, and these are things which make people more at risk of mental health problems. We’re focusing our efforts on people who will benefit the most.”

However a local resident told the Oxford Mail that people on the estate “felt let down” by the PCT. He said: “A lot of people will want to see the results before they start to smile. Give us something concrete to smile about first, because nobody’s going to come and start smiling until then. It’s patronising and inappropriate.”