[MissAnonymous]

It is not 'ridiculous' in some cases, I dont care if you work in a medical setting, I think thats irresponsible to say that.

I know people who have been GIVEN an alert card made by the hospital to put in their purse for mental health conditions and including a phone number to the mental health team they are under.

In the cases of schizophrenia, manic depression, psychosis and dissociative identity disorder- in fact anything that means a person can detach from reality and become lost or unable to communicate it is actually VERY useful. I would imagine someone with althziemers disease would be advised to carry one if they are at risk of getting lost and wandering off.

Also, it helps the police if they find a person acting strangely or aggressively and think its alcohol, they are not as likely to call for medical help as if they knew it was mental ill health they would have to. Its incredibly distressing to be arrested and bundled into a van when really you need to be in a hospital with treatment.