Leaked Report Fuels Mental Health Racism Row

A leaked version of the Count Me In Census 2006 has revealed that despite the government’s best attempts, discrimination against black patients is still rife when it comes to mental health.

In yet another blow against the government’s new mental health proposals, the damning responses written within the report support the view of experts who have warned that the proposals within the 2006 mental health bill will exacerbate the racism within mental health services.

In addition, the report concluded that the £16 million set aside by health minister Rosie Winterton for the Delivering Race Equality (DRE) programme had little to no effect in improving the ethnic inequalities in inpatient care.

Reverend Pedro Okoro, chair of the African Caribbean Evangelical Alliance, told black information website blink.org.uk: “The census is another piece of evidence to show which confirms that there is no change in the discrimination faced by black patients using mental health services.”

Professor Sashi Sashidharan, consultant psychiatrist and panellist on the David Bennett Inquiry which prompted the DRE, added: “The 2006 Bill which is being debated in the House of Lords will definitely worsen the problem and not only increase discrimination but also the terrible treatment black people who use the service are subject to.”