Integrated care boards (ICBs) must commission mental health support which meets the needs of ‘racialised and marginalised communities’, a new report has said.
The report from the Centre for Mental Health and Coffee Afrik CIC found people from racialised communities face ‘disproportionately high levels of trauma’, with public services often reproducing this trauma rather than alleviating it.
The Trauma-informed care and racialised communities report said that while interest in trauma-informed care in the NHS was growing, current provision was still ‘fragmented and inconsistent’.
Commissioned by the NHS Race and Health Observatory, the report called for all ICBs to ensure the mental health support it commissions meets the needs of racialised and marginalised communities.
It said that ICBs should work in collaboration with both patients and community organisations from racialised communities to do so.
It added: ‘This should be done in line with the Strategic Commissioning Framework but must include using data about need and service provision to identify gaps or quality concerns in existing provision.’
The report also found while mental health services can help to heal the effects of racial trauma, care is often not culturally sensitive and does not address the ways people experience multiple forms of discrimination including xenophobia, sexism, classism, homophobia, islamophobia and antisemitism.
It calls for the universal adoption of anti-racism and trauma-informed approaches to mental health care, backed up by the Patient and Carer Race Equality Framework.
Professor Habib Naqvi, chief executive of RHO said: ‘We need to be clear that the everyday experiences of racism and race inequity are a cause of psychological harm, and that this trauma can be compounded by feelings of dismissal or disbelief faced when accessing NHS services.
‘It’s essential that health services are co-produced and co-designed with communities to genuinely embed an understanding of race and racism, and the intersecting ways in which racialised communities experience trauma and treatment. A new kind of compassionate, trauma-informed care is needed and is possible.’
Andy Bell, chief executive at Centre for Mental Health, added: ‘Racism is one of the reasons why people from racialised communities in the UK experience higher rates of mental ill health and coercive treatment from mental health services.
‘Recognising the importance of racial trauma and partnering with community organisations can help mental health services to offer better support and to heal rather than harm.
‘We urge all mental health services to commit to anti-racist and trauma-informed approaches in all aspects of their work.’
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: ‘Everyone should receive safe, compassionate and culturally sensitive care, and we are committed to tackling disparities wherever they exist.
‘The government is making a significant investment in mental health services, with £473 million in capital funding available nationally over four years to support the establishment of community based mental health centres and other vital priorities across the country.
‘All NHS mental health service providers are also required to embed the Patient and Carer Race Equality Framework into their services to support them to improve their interaction with racialised and culturally diverse communities.’
