Ethnic minorities targeted in mental health review

Friday, 17 October 2003 7:02 PM

Black people in the UK are over six times more likely to be detained under the Mental Health Act than the majority of the population. That's one of the key factors that have prompted a review of services for ethnic minority groups.

Other concerning figures issued by the DoH today include the fact that women born in India and East Africa have a 40% higher suicide rate than those born in England and Wales.

People from Black and minority ethnic communities express lower
satisfaction rates than the general population within the health
service, according to the DoH, which is launching a three-month consultation on the issue.

There are also concerns that the stigma of seeking help for mental health problems stops people from some cultural backgrounds from getting treatment early enough. And there are suggestions that racial prejudice on the part of psychiatrists is affecting diagnoses and treatment decisions.

Health Minister Rosie Winterton commented: 'Changing the current situation in mental health is about a number of key issues. We must make services equally accessible, offer choice in service provision and create an NHS that is fair to all and personal."

She claimed that communities had to be informed about available services and consulted on how they could be improved in partnership with local people.

A key part of achieving that will be the recruitment of 500 community development workers from ethnic minority backgrounds by 2006.

The Commission for Racial Equality has backed the initiative with chair Trevor Phillips claiming that there is an abundance of evidence to suggest that 'inequalities exist among ethnic minority communities both in service delivery and provision.'

The consultation will last until the end of January 2004. But newspaper reports have today suggested that the consultation has been 'rushed out' ahead of the inquiries into the deaths of two ethnic minority mental health patients: Daksha Emson, a psychiatrist who killed her baby before committing suicide three years ago, and David Bennett, who was being treated at a secure unit in Norwich. Both reports are expected to be critical of mental health services.

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