Gloucestershire’s Mental Health Services

Summary

Addressing mental health inequalities in our ethnic minority communities has long been a priority, recently highlighted in the NHS Long-Term Plan and October 2020 ‘Advancing mental health equalities strategy’. This report, instigated by Karl Gluck, Head of Integrated Commissioning for Adult Mental Health, Advocacy and Autism is a response to the Black Lives Matter movement, as well as the local report on the use of the Mental Health Act. In summary, it shows that the local data reflects the national position with both an overrepresentation of ethnic minority communities under compulsory powers of the MHA and under-representation in other services. You can read the full report here (can we attach a document to the YouEngage survey).

The report puts forward 10 draft recommendations which are:

1) Consulting with local ethnic minority community groups and existing groups about these draft recommendations.

2) Endorsing recommendation 1 from the Director of Public Health’s report to a) ‘require comprehensive and good quality ethnicity data collection in all public services (directly provided and commissioned) including death registration; and b) put in place cultural intelligence training and messaging to improve response rates.’

3) Offer to pilot the Patient and Carers Race Equality Framework (PCREF) and include development of cultural competence training for staff, to include ‘subconscious bias’.

4) Ensure mental health commissioners robustly use standard Equality Impact Assessments, as well as data and experience feedback to inform commissioning decisions.

5) Address ethnic minority experiences of poorer access to mental health services and poorer outcomes, primarily through the Community Mental Health Transformation Programme.

6) Review the use of interpreter policies and guidance by health and social care staff in mental health services across the ICS; and establish if further guidance/awareness/training is required to ensure compliance.

7) Review quality of culturally appropriate advocacy, with a view to engage in a national pilot.

8) Investigate the need for regular specific mental health focussed community events for ethnic minority communities.

9) Analyse a sample of ethnic minority admissions under the Mental Health Act to identify possible options for alternative and earlier interventions.

10) Take action that supports greater representation of people from ethnic minority heritage across all mental health professions. This could include mentoring, reverse mentoring, leadership training and sponsorship.