Female receptionists at GP surgeries can put men off seeking help for mental health issues, MPs have been told.

Professor Sarah Niblock, chief executive of the UK Council for Psychotherapy, said that sharing mental health issues with GP receptionists “could be a huge barrier for men actually coming forward and speaking about it in the first place.”

Giving evidence to the Women and Equalities Committee, she added that “one of the huge problems we have is that stigma is much more acutely held among groups of men” and that “we are kind of a culture that seems to create shame.”

The committee has started an inquiry into the different factors leading to mental health problems in men and boys, the barriers they face when accessing support and how frontline services can be more inclusive to overcome this.

“Walking into my local GP, you have to tell someone on the desk, who is often female, why you want an appointment, what it is that’s causing you concern. That immediately could be a huge barrier for men actually coming forward and speaking about it in the first place,” said Prof Niblock.