England: Some black and ethnic minority groups are three times more likely to be admitted to mental health hospitals

Craegmoor:

The chairman of the Healthcare Commission has called for the mandatory recording of the ethnicity of all patients using mental health and learning disability services.

Professor Ian Kennedy's call comes following the publication of results from the 'Count Me In' national census showing that some black and ethnic minority groups are three times more likely to be admitted to mental health hospitals.

Recorded in England and Wales in March 2006, the census also demonstrates that black and white/black mixed groups were far more likely to admitted to hospital under the criminal justice system and retained for longer on average.

Suggesting that the census could only provide a "snapshot" of the real picture, professor Kennedy called for more information to be gathered by the Department of Health and the Health and Social Care Information Centre.

Call For Mandatory Reporting Of Ethnicity For All Patients Using Mental Health And Learning Disability Services, UK

Count me in - Results of the 2006 national census of inpatients in mental health and learning disability services in England and Wales