Report accuses NHS of institutional racism
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《英国医生杂志》
London
The Royal College of Psychiatrists has backed calls for the creation of a mental health "tsar" (national clinical director) for people from black and other ethnic minority groups, one of a series of recommendations in a leaked report into the death of David "Rocky" Bennett, a black patient in an NHS psychiatric unit.
The report, by retired judge Sir John Blofeld, took evidence from some of the most senior figures in psychiatry, including the mental health tsar, Louis Appleby, and was published this week after the BMJ went to press.
A leaked version seen by the BMJ paints a picture of institutional racism and discrimination in the NHS and private sector against psychiatric patients and staff from ethnic minority groups.
The report makes 22 recommendations to ensure that patients from ethnic minority groups get better treatment. These include recruiting more staff from these groups, more training in cultural sensitivity, care plans that include details of each patient's ethnic origin, and a three minute time limit on the use of restraint in the prone position.
It raised concerns about the reluctance among psychiatrists to diagnose schizophrenia and instead opt for "drug induced psychosis" in cases of Afro-Caribbean patients who were thought to use cannabis.
David "Rocky" Bennett died after a struggle with nursing staff in which he was pinioned face down for over 28 minutes
Credit: PA
Mr Bennett, 38, who was being treated for schizophrenia, died after a struggle with nursing staff at a clinic in Norwich in 1998. An inquest heard that he was pinioned face down for over 28 minutes by up to five members of staff.
The Royal College of Psychiatrists has publicly stated its awareness of "institutional racism both within itself and in mental health services." It has been working with the centre for ethnicity and health at the University of Central Lancashire to ensure that psychiatrists get better training and to increase their awareness of discrimination. The college's president, Dr Mike Shooter, welcomed the leaked findings and said he "would wish to work closely" with an ethnic minority mental health tsar.
Other experts blame years of underfunding and mismanagement for inequalities. Richard Brook, the chief executive of the mental health charity Mind, said: "The lid needs to be lifted on what exactly is going on in our secure hospitals. A black mental health tsar will be useless unless the government acts to remedy the failings at the very heart of the mental health system."
And the independent health think tank the King's Fund found serious problems for ethnic minority patients in its 2003 report on mental health services.(Mark Gould)
The Royal College of Psychiatrists has backed calls for the creation of a mental health "tsar" (national clinical director) for people from black and other ethnic minority groups, one of a series of recommendations in a leaked report into the death of David "Rocky" Bennett, a black patient in an NHS psychiatric unit.
The report, by retired judge Sir John Blofeld, took evidence from some of the most senior figures in psychiatry, including the mental health tsar, Louis Appleby, and was published this week after the BMJ went to press.
A leaked version seen by the BMJ paints a picture of institutional racism and discrimination in the NHS and private sector against psychiatric patients and staff from ethnic minority groups.
The report makes 22 recommendations to ensure that patients from ethnic minority groups get better treatment. These include recruiting more staff from these groups, more training in cultural sensitivity, care plans that include details of each patient's ethnic origin, and a three minute time limit on the use of restraint in the prone position.
It raised concerns about the reluctance among psychiatrists to diagnose schizophrenia and instead opt for "drug induced psychosis" in cases of Afro-Caribbean patients who were thought to use cannabis.
David "Rocky" Bennett died after a struggle with nursing staff in which he was pinioned face down for over 28 minutes
Credit: PA
Mr Bennett, 38, who was being treated for schizophrenia, died after a struggle with nursing staff at a clinic in Norwich in 1998. An inquest heard that he was pinioned face down for over 28 minutes by up to five members of staff.
The Royal College of Psychiatrists has publicly stated its awareness of "institutional racism both within itself and in mental health services." It has been working with the centre for ethnicity and health at the University of Central Lancashire to ensure that psychiatrists get better training and to increase their awareness of discrimination. The college's president, Dr Mike Shooter, welcomed the leaked findings and said he "would wish to work closely" with an ethnic minority mental health tsar.
Other experts blame years of underfunding and mismanagement for inequalities. Richard Brook, the chief executive of the mental health charity Mind, said: "The lid needs to be lifted on what exactly is going on in our secure hospitals. A black mental health tsar will be useless unless the government acts to remedy the failings at the very heart of the mental health system."
And the independent health think tank the King's Fund found serious problems for ethnic minority patients in its 2003 report on mental health services.(Mark Gould)