Region's black patients four times as likely to be detained under Mental Health Act

The NHS figures show the rate of detentions when taking population size into account was higher for black patients in the area at 258 per 100,000 people compared to 64 per 100,000 for those that identified as white.

Of the 818 people detained in the 12 months to March 2022 - 585 were white, while 230 were black or black British, prompting calls for more steps to be taken to prevent residents spiralling into decline.

NHS Black Country Integrated Care Board chief Mark Axcell said it was committed to reducing health inequalities in partnership with the healthcare foundation trust serving Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton.

The move is in response to comments by the Race Equality Foundation which said inequality in mental health detentions were not surprising or new. And were a result of failure to invest in early intervention and preventative measures.

Race Equality trust boss Jabeer Butt said the situation will not improve unless inequality in care is taken seriously by health bosses.

"The real question is why has this not changed despite being well documented over a number of years, not just with these new figures? The health and care system fails to invest in early intervention even though this has been highlighted as an issue for a long time.

"A failure to invest in early intervention and preventative measures means that problems are allowed to develop until things reach crisis point," Ms Butt said.

Mr Axcell said: “We are committed to reducing any health inequalities for people from ethnic minority groups in the Black Country.

“We will continue to work with our lead provider for mental health and learning disability services to ensure the services they provide are equitable in access and outcomes for everyone.”

Nationally a total of 53,337 new detentions were recorded in the same period, although the actual overall figure will be higher as not all trusts submitted data and some submitted incomplete data.

Among the five broad ethnic groups, the rate of detention for black or black British people showed 342 detentions per 100,000 population, nearly five times that of white people at 72 per 100,000 population.

The Department of Health said the launch of a dedicated strategy three years ago has ensured steps to improve the access to mental health care for people from ethnic minority groups. It added that a new quality programme is in place to ensure hospitals were supporting those detained under the act, including addressing inequalities in how it was being applied.

Under the Mental Health Act people with a mental disorder may be formally detained in hospital or 'sectioned' in the interests of their own health or safety, or for the protection of the public.