BME mental health: Choudhury challenges treatment inequalities

Responding to the recently published report by the UK Parliament’s Joint Committee on the Draft Mental Health Bill 2022, Foysol Choudhury MSP said: “It is simply unacceptable when those from Black and Minority Ethnic backgrounds are treated unequally. It is also unacceptable when this unequal treatment is enacted against vulnerable members of our society who need protection and care. 

“It has been five years since Professor Wessely’s landmark review of the Mental Health Act which exposed racial and ethnic inequalities in treatment of patients in England, yet these problems of racial bias in the treatment of mental health are shockingly getting “rapidly worse”. 

“In England in 2021-22, Black people were four times more likely than white people to be detained under the Mental Health Act (MHA), and more than 11 times more likely to be given a community treatment order.

“I am glad to see the Joint Committee on the Mental Health Bill is working to ensure these failures are addressed, however, Scotland needs to learn lessons from these shocking revelations and ensure that Scotland’s mental health legislation contains appropriate safeguards which allow patients to have more choice. 

“Following the introduction of this Bill in England, I am calling on the Scottish Government to review its own practices in relation to Mental Health to ensure that the services we provide in Scotland prioritise racial equity and treat all of our citizens with the dignity and equality they deserve. 

“It is unacceptable that some from minority communities in England are more likely to experience detentions in the face of the Mental Health Act, when instead we should be offering everyone support and choice equally.  

“The Scottish Government should prioritise a review into mental health provision in Scotland to ensure that this shocking case of mental health treatment disparity is not also happening in Scotland. Let’s be a Scotland which truly cares for all.” 

Draft Mental Health Bill: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/draft-mental-health-bill-2022