Wednesday, March 30, 2005

Racism census for mental health care (UK) Guardian story - "The first census of mental health units to establish the extent of discrimination against black and minority ethnic patients will be carried out throughout the NHS and private hospitals in England and Wales tomorrow. Health inspectors will look into the ethnic and religious characteristics of all in-patients and their experience of seclusion or injury while on hospital premises. The Count Me In census follows allegations of institutional racism in mental health services made last year by Sir John Blofeld, a retired high court judge..."  
  

Forget the mental health bill (UK) Opinion column in The Guardian - "By September it will be seven years since the government began attempts to reform mental health law to introduce compulsory treatment in the community. Following the report last week of a pre-legislative scrutiny committee of MPs and peers, who evidently did not think very much of the latest draft bill, things seem scarcely any further forward. Where do we go from here? The coming general election offers an opportunity for reflection and, in the event of another Labour victory, quiet burial of the big-bang approach to reform. Instead, (presumably) new ministers should take a deep breath, revisit the 1983 Mental Health Act (since amended), and consider how it could be modified further to meet their main objectives..."