Ethnic Groups See More Mental Health Admissions

The number of people from ethnic minorities ending up in hospitals for mental health problems is rising year by year, and some groups are three times more likely to be hospitalised for mental illness.

According to the Count Me In Census 2007, 22 per cent of people on mental health wards are from minority ethnic groups, rising from 21 per cent in 2006 and 20 per cent in 2005.

Despite the higher proportion of ethnic minority patients, the number of people on mental health wards has fallen overall from 33,785 in 2005 to 31,187 in 2007.

It seems that many people are turning to independent mental health hospitals, as the proportion of people being cared for in these increased from ten per cent in 2005 to 14 per cent in 2007.

Possibly due to the recent drive for supported living, the number of inpatients in care homes for people with learning disabilities dropped from 4,609 to 4,153 over the past two years.

The census revealed that some ethnic groups have much higher rates of mental health admission.

Anna Walker, chief executive of the Healthcare Commission, said: “We would like a dialogue with local agencies and with mental health and learning disability organisations that have high numbers of black and minority ethnic patients, such as those in London, Leeds and Birmingham.

“With their knowledge, we can begin to look at the problems within the communities and bring together local agencies to tackle the issues that cause some black and minority ethnic groups to have higher rates of mental illness.”

Among the groups who were often hospitalised with mental health issues rather than cared for as an outpatient, black second and third generation young men were most often affected.