Institutional racism in mental health care

doi:10.1136/bmj.39163.395972.80

BMJ 2007;334:649-650 (31 March), doi:10.1136/bmj.39163.395972.80

Editorials

Institutional racism in mental health care

Services have some way to go before they meet the challengesof a multicultural society

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Last week, the Healthcare Commission reported the findings ofthe "Count me in" one day census of National Health Servicehospitals, private mental health hospitals, and learning disabilityunits.¹ It makes grim reading for people of African and Caribbeanorigin living in England and Wales.

The survey of 32 023 inpatients on mental health wards in 238NHS and private healthcare hospitals reported that 21% of patientswere from black and minority ethnic groups, although they representonly 7% of the population. Rates of admission were lower thanaverage in the white British, Indian, and Chinese groups, butthree or more times higher than average in black African, blackCaribbean, and white and black Caribbean mixed groups. Not onlywere people in these three groups more likely to be admittedto hospital, but those in hospital were 19-39% more likely tobe admitted involuntarily. Once in hospital, people who defined. . . [Full text of this article]

Kwame McKenzie, honorary consultant¹, Kamaldeep Bhui, professor of cultural psychiatry and epidemiology²

¹ Barnet Enfield and Haringey Mental Health Trust, St Anne's Hospital, London N15 3TH, ² Centre for Psychiatry, Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine, Barts and the London, Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry, London EC1M 6BQ

k.mckenzie@medsch.ucl.ac.uk

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