NOVANEWS
Calls for Conservative parliamentary candidate Chamali Fernando to stand down for saying mentally ill people could wear wristbands
She said the bands could help officials identify those with illnesses
Wednesday 15 April 2015
Campaigners are calling on the Conservative parliamentary candidate for Cambridge to stand down, after she said that mental health patients could wear colour-coded wristbands to identifying their conditions.
During an event hosted by campaign Keep Our NHS Public in Cambridge, Chamali Fernando was asked how the authorities could help the police better deal with people with mental health issues.
Fernando responded that wristbands which disclose a person’s illness could help barristers, such as herself, to better aid the public.
She went on to suggest that a different coloured wristband for each mental health condition could improve the system, local political blogger Richard Taylor, who tweeted from the event, told the Cambridge Tab student newspaper.
Taylor told the newspaper: “This would immediately cause others to be prejudiced towards someone because you’ve given them a colour coding.
“If she’s coming up with a new policy like this at a hustings what she do when she’s standing in parliament?”
Fernando responded that wristbands which disclose a person’s illness could help barristers, such as herself, to better aid the public.
She went on to suggest that a different coloured wristband for each mental health condition could improve the system, local political blogger Richard Taylor, who tweeted from the event, told the Cambridge Tab student newspaper.
Taylor told the newspaper: “This would immediately cause others to be prejudiced towards someone because you’ve given them a colour coding.
“If she’s coming up with a new policy like this at a hustings what she do when she’s standing in parliament?”
