Mental Health Director apologises for "meltdown" tweet

Wednesday 13 July 2022

Jersey's Director of Mental Health and Adult Social Care has apologised after facing backlash to his tweet about a woman having an "absolute meltdown" in Starbucks, which some deemed "inappropriate".

Andy Weir's tweet read: "Sitting in Starbucks watching a woman have an absolute meltdown & shouting at the staff …. Because they have run out of coconut milk ???? Honestly….. chill out love."

Pictured: Mr Weir's tweet.

Some local Twitter users expressed concern about whether his tweet, dated 10 July 2022, was "appropriate" considering his position as Director of Mental Health and Adult Social Care.

A local doctor described the "chill out love" comment as a "touch misogynistic", adding: "I generally find when I want to make 'snarky' comments on social media it's generally best to just step away for a little while. It doesn't do anyone any good."

Others noted that the reaction of the lady described in the tweet should have sparked concern for her wellbeing.

Among them was cancer campaigner and founder of cancer.je Lorna Pirozzolo, who commented: "I had a breakdown which only became apparent to others. after my reaction to spilling milk... so I do find his tweet rather disturbing. If I saw someone having such a seemingly extreme reaction to something so small I'd at least consider they are struggling."

The day after the original tweet, Mr Weir followed up with two further tweets which apologised for his "personal tweet".

He explained: "My personal tweet yesterday has clearly led to some concerns around intent & values. I’m sorry that is the case. I was remarking on a specific situation that I perceived to be unfair to the recipients, and which certainly did not appear to be in any way related to mental health…".

Mr Weir added: "I accept my clumsy use of ‘meltdown’ confused that. People who know me will already know my values (esp around mental health) and no offence was intended. Thank you to folk who engaged with me directly- it’s been helpful to discuss & reflect, and recognise the unintended impact."

Pictured: Mr Weir has since apologised for his words, saying that "no offence was intended".

When asked about their Social Media Policy for civil servants, a Government spokesperson said it was "an internal document" so they are "unable to share it".

They declined to comment further on Mr Weir's tweet, but instead directed Express to the above apology on Mr Weir's own Twitter feed.

Mr Weir, who has been a Registered Mental Health Nurse since 1995, was appointed to the newly-created Director role in January 2022 following two decades' leadership experience across a range of healthcare and prison settings.

Prior to moving to Jersey, he was the Deputy Chief Operating Officer for the Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust for four years.

He is on secondment and the Government has previously declined to state how long he will remain in post.