Race equality training needs to focus more on unequal services and less on culture and diversity
Written by admin on Tuesday, October 9, 2007 09:13
New report from the Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health
Race-related training in mental health services focuses too strongly on cultural differences and not enough on how to reduce racial inequalities in care, says a report published today by the Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health.
Race Equality Training in Mental Health Services in England: Does one size fit all? (click to download) is based on a survey of participants, providers and commissioners of training. It finds that two-thirds of staff working in mental health services have had race-related training. The majority of training courses focus on increasing people’s cultural awareness. Few training courses were evaluated afterwards for their impact on service users.
The report finds that in the absence of any professional body to set standards for race equality training, providers have a wide range of skills and experience. Only one quarter of participants had received any training from a service user in mental health.
Dr Joanna Bennett, lead author of the report, said: “Current approaches to race equality training are inadequate to address race inequality in mental health services. Training should give staff the skills they need to address inequalities, for example in the way people are diagnosed, treated and managed. It should focus on improving professional practice, not just giving staff more knowledge of different cultures.”
The report calls for fundamental changes in the delivery of race equality training. It calls for national quality standards and guidance on the qualification and accreditation of trainers. It says training should be evaluated for its impact on staff knowledge and skills, and services should be monitored for delivering training that works.
Sainsbury Centre chief executive Angela Greatley said: “Race equality training should not be regarded as a ‘one size fits all’ programme for all mental health workers. It should be tailored to staff needs and part and parcel of each service’s plans to improve race equality locally.
“We welcome the Government’s ongoing commitment to race equality in mental health services and hope that the findings of this report will inform the further development of the Delivering Race Equality programme.”
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The research for the report was commissioned by the Department of Health as part of the Delivering Race Equality (DRE) programme. DRE requires all mental health staff to receive training in cultural competence, in line with the recommendation of the Independent Inquiry into the death of David Bennett.
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