'Shocking' experience of black service users uncovered

Written by Musmirah_Shahzada on Monday, November 13, 2006 12:53

Lord Kamlesh Patel comments on the Count Me In 2006 report

Written by Victoria Vaughan in HSJ, 09 November 2006.

Black mental health patients report a far worse experience of hospital care than other ethnic groups, a survey has shown.

Count Me In, which highlighted different experiences of mental healthcare by ethnic group, showed that 33 per cent of black patients felt they were racially discriminated against - compared with 15 per cent of all ethnic groups.

Among black patients surveyed, 27 per cent said nursing staff rarely or never treated them fairly, compared with 13 per cent from all ethnic groups. Fifteen per cent of black patients said staff were rarely or never polite, compared with 7 per cent generally.

Lord Kamlesh Patel, chair of the Mental Health Act Commission, which carried out the survey, said some of the findings were 'shocking'.

He said: 'This report, like others before it, shows significant differences in how black people report their time in hospital, and that their experience in important aspects is worse than that of other patients.'

Overall, of the 425 patients interviewed in 41 services across England and Wales, only 55 per cent said their treatment plan had been well explained on admission and 40 per cent reported use of restraint.

Sixteen per cent said they had received unwanted sexual advances from patients and 4 per cent reported such advances from staff.

Lord Patel also expressed concern about the extent of reported bullying by staff and patients.

This was the second annual survey commissioned by the Department of Health as part of its Delivering Race Equality in Mental Health action plan aiming to improve services during the next five years. As a result, the action plan called for improved staff training on ethnicity and culture, and an audit on use of restraint.

The findings follow a letter from health minister Rosie Winterton to strategic health authority executives stating that mental health services for black and minority ethnic communities were discriminating in a way that was 'unethical and unlawful' . Read more about the story here.

Count Me In results for 2006 will be published in December. For 2005 results and other information, visit the Healthcare Commission website

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