The Mental Patients' Union was an activist organisation founded in March 1973 in Paddington Day Hospital. Some of the founders had previously been members of the Scottish Union of Mental Patients. Andrew Roberts and Liz Durkin were among the six people involved in setting up the original meeting. Durkin had been employed at Paddington Day Hospital as a social worker and was asked to speak about the meeting on Radio 4, but the group insisted that the spokesperson had to be a patient. Roberts was interviewed on the Today Programme. As a result of the publicity generated by the interview more than 100 people turned up for the meeting, which was held on the same day.