Mental health expert rejects OBE offer by Matilda MacAttram
24/5/2007

EMINENT PSYCHIATRIST Professor Suman Fernando has written to Tony Blair rejecting his offer OBE in protest at the governments' failure to tackle racism in the mental health service.

Professor Suman Fernando (centre) with Matilda MacAttram and Rev'd Pedro Okoro.
Professor Fernando is deeply concerns over the current Mental Health Bill which he fears will entrench unequal outcomes in the service.

Human rights and race equality campaigners have welcomed the news of the life long health campaigners decision to publicly reject the offer of an honour. In a letter to Tony Blair, Professor Fernando said he found the offer puzzling since the government has consistently ignored his warnings that plans within the proposed legislation to extend compulsory powers of detention of anyone who comes in contact with mental health services was "deeply flawed".


He wrote: "It seems most strange that the Government say they want to recognise my services to BME Mental Healthcare at a time when they are trying to push through legislation that would make things worse for black people caught up in the mental health system, in spite of strong objections by many people (including myself) expressed both publicly and in private to Government ministers."
[align=center]exacerbate [/align] In a letter which was copied to prime-minister-in-waiting Gordon Brown, he added: "Much of the failure results from institutional racism, and injustices are evident mostly in the experience of black Caribbean people who are disproportionately sectioned and subject to inappropriate - often damaging ‘care’."

Tony Blair: presided over huge inequalities in the mental health system.Under the current 1983 Mental Health Act people from African Caribbean communities are 44% more likely to be sectioned that a British white person, despite black people having similar rates of mental ill health as other ethnic groups.
Prof Fernando is concerned that the proposed changes in the 2006 Mental Health Bill, which will be debated on the floor of the House of Common’s later this month, will exacerbate the problem of discrimination within the services and make this matter worse.

His comments come at a time when the Government is committed to railroading through the hugely contentious 2006 Mental Health Bill which has been condemned by professionals, race quality campaigners and human rights groups.
The government has just finished overturning every amendment made in the House of Lords which placed safeguards against injustices which often happen to black people subject to mental health law.
[align=center]principles[/align] The Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt has stated publicly that the Bill gives the right balance between protecting the public from people who might pose a threat who have a mental illness.

Race equality experts say this is not the case as under the current law black people make up over 40% of patients in high secure hospitals such as Rampton, Broadmoor and Ashworth despite being less than 3% of the national population.
Research also shows that 11% of black people detained in these high secure prison settings for the mentally ill have never committed any crime.

Prof Fernando's letter states: "At the very leastwhat the Government can do is amend the Act... that would oblige professionals to provide a fair and just system that would minimise the risk of injustice and protect the public in a real sense."
An active campaigner for over thirty years, Prof Fernando was one of the experts at Black Mental Health UK’s all parliamentary briefing on the 2006 Mental Health Bill held at Westminster earlier this month.
[align=center]enlightened [/align] It was clear from the debate held at this meeting that the Government’s concession to add principles to the code of practice rather than the Bill calls into questions Blair administrations commitment to race equality. Legal experts at the meeting enlightened delegates that the fact that Government is sovereign and so has it within their power to add race equality principles to the face of the Bill, the only factor stopping this is political will.

Fernando is clear that in order to ensure equitable mental health care for the future, the 2006 Mental Health in its current state needs to be ditched.
"What a better time than now for Labour to show the country that it will deliver a fair and just mental health system, my plea to Government is to withdraw the Bill as it stands today and get back to consultation mode."

Traditionally those declining honours from the British Government do so privately but Professor Fernando follows in the footsteps of race quality campaigner like Dr Benjamin Zephaniah who dismissed his award in 2003. Downing Street was unavailable to comment on whether or not Professor Fernando’s name had been submitted to the Queen for an OBE.


Fernando’s decision has been welcomed by health and race equality campaigners from across the UK as well as countless patients and their families and community groups currently dealing with often long-term damaging effects of systemic racism within the mental health services.

Suman Fernando can do what he likes. It is an empty gesture. Mental health professionals are changing their views.

The best evidence suggests that black people arecertainly notover represented in psychiatric institutions because of 'institutional racism'.

Other factors are at play here and in fact there is evidence that panels reviewing 'sections' under the Mental Health legislation frequently allow black people who should be receiving treatment to go out into the community where there is NO support and often a blank denial of their problems. In other words black patients are sometimes given a spurious 'liberty' when they should be detained.

Posters who are interested in this area should read the details of the BBC2 Newsnight special report on 21.05.07 here -

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/programm...ht/6678369.stm

You will read the views of non-white Professor Swaran Singh, a consultant psychiatrist based in Birmingham, who says plainly that the 'institutional racism' agenda itself is inflicting racist outcomes on vulnerable non-whites. You will also read the views of black consultant psychiatrist Dr Shubulade Smith,fromthe world-famous Maudsley Hospital in South London who argues forcefully that many factors lead to the over represenation of black males in psychiatric institutions, not least theout-dated attitudes to mental health found in the UK's African-Caribbean community which result in people delaying treatment until there is a crisis. You will read the story of the black patient Carlyle Success who acknowledges the fact that he was really ill and in need of support and not a victim of 'institutional racism'.

Mr Zube

May I ask your ethnicity?

Mr Zube.....You're both right and wrong on this issue, yes it is somewhat outdated to suggest that people are sectioned just on the basis of colour.....and that the over representation is solely dwn to racism, i completely agree with you on that issue..

In addition to your point on the the attitudes of 'blacks' to Mental health, there is also a Sainbury's report entitled 'Circles of fear' that speaks exactly to the points you just made....

However where i would disagree with you is on this perspective, insitutions racism in my experiences kicks in on a number of issue post admission to hospital... issues like "revolving door' patients who like you said are kick out too early with improper support systems in the community to keep them well or to prevent a relapse.. I would also add that almost certainly that the applications of mental health statue via the courts does weight more heavily on BLACK patients..who recieve a harsher application of the mental health act from a forensic perspective and who without doubt are more likely to end up in medium to high secure instutions than their white peers commiting the same crime..

But essentially I do agree with you it is about time that black people realise that by helping loved ones to avoid early mental health treatment, can and does have a detrimental and sometimes irriversiable effect on those loved one...hench sometimes the high numbers in care...

Kunjufu wrote: Well maybe Im reading your wrong here but I cannot believe that the high number of black patients in places like Maudesley etc are due in part to black peoples attitudes to mental health. I personally know of an example where a brother went to the hospital to seek help/ with his family/and was refused (on what grounds I dont know) and subsequently died three days later. 40% of wards are black. WTF?

Nah I know too many brothers who have "lost it" for it to be a case of attitudes within the black community. The attitudes may be there all the same/but what is it that causes such a high prevalence in the first place. Is babylon truly driving us mad. Or is it the skunk being smoked?

Because to visit any of these wards and see the amount of black people is disturbing to say the least. From what Ive seen of the treatrment on offer/ it is high powered pills that may dull the effects of the sickness but seem to dull everything else. Drowziness and lethagy/ deep sleep/ rediculous weight gain. I know a brother who has suffered for years and has recently got worse.From a lay mans point of view the treatment on offer is crude and damaging to health. I dont feel you can beat this thing with chemicals alone. That alone is reason to run from it.

Why are there soooo many threads on Mental Health...essentiallyabout the same thing? I can't keep up... Contribute to one and another one pops up asking the same debate to continue:?

[align=left]Brother Tekoma & BFG...

In my experience the issue of Mis diagnosis is no as big as it once was, so to be honest imo that is NOT the major issue.. Also If BT is right that there is 40% of blacks in the Maudsley then that is actually reflective of the populace in that area Southwark is about 45% black, Lambeth I would have thought higher. However Whilst i agree Racism is a factor, that factor is not to do with the treatment, i would say that factor is to do with OUR ability to live in the WEST.. Seriously there is a growing body of opinion that thinks we are simply not built to live in West, hench our high numbers in Hospital, prison etc..

BFG...Many people won't know but there are actually two divisions of mental health, one that sopport people who are unwell in places like the Maudsley, and the second where the courts intervene and people get sent to Broadmoor/rampton etc etc... in the second instance I no longer think its about Big. Bad & Black..I am begining to suspect its more about one thing...MONEY!!!

Finally before we go running off on a tangent about racism and the mental health system, we need to take note of a crucial factor.. whilst in the inner cities we are high in mnumber on admission it is also a sad fact that our numbers among the nurses, and professions are even higher..yet still malpractice still goes on...my question is WHY?
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