Reaching out: support for ethnic minorities

Jo Neale and colleagues discuss the challenges facing mental health service providers across the UK in attempting to meet the needs of young people with African Caribbean and South Asian backgrounds Over the last 20 years, growing concern has been expressed over whether mental health services are meeting the needs of minority ethnic groups in an effective way. Recent reports have highlighted the under-utilisation of mental health support services by people from non-white backgrounds (National Institute for Mental Health in England (NIMHE) 2003), while the publication of an independent inquiry into the death of David Bennett in an inpatient unit prompted a wider desire to tackle racial inequalities in the mental health arena (Parish 2004). Much progress has undoubtedly been made but we will argue that many challenges remain both for those who commission and manage services, and for the providers delivering them.