Report - London Borough of Hillingdon

Mental Health in Children: Equalities Issues
This briefing describes research carried out on BME young peoples use of
mental health services, based on a review of the literature. The key findings
are summarised below.
The Office for National Statistics Survey of the mental health of children and
adolescents in Great Britain (1999) revealed that nearly 10% of White children
and 12% of Black children were assessed as having a mental health problem.
The prevalence rates among Asian children were 8% of the Pakistani and
Bangladeshi and 4% of the Indian samples.
Key issues and findings:
• Many young BME people only reached help at a critical point in their
difficulties, sometimes after an emergency referral.
• The problems in accessing services: a proportion of BME families did
not access their GPs regarding mental health issues, cultural barriers
to accessing services and information, and spoken and written
language being a barrier in accessing services and information.
• Limited knowledge of existing mental health services and what it does.
• Stigma associated with mental health: even when young people
recognised that they needed help many did not know where to go - or
were wary of seeking help due to worries about stigma and
confidentiality.
• BME had experienced particular difficulties with the transitional phase
from CAMHS to the Care Trust.
• The lack of partnership working between CAMHS and voluntary sector
provision in many areas of the country was highlighted.
• Inadequate support for Black community initiatives and communitybased
crisis care.
• Lower satisfaction rates with the service provided.
• Young African Caribbean men are more likely than others to be
referred to mental health services through the criminal justice system,
rather than through their GPs.
• For young Asian people, there were some suggestions that their fears
of being ‘labelled’ are very marked since seeking help is viewed as
‘going outside of the family’.
Some examples of types of illnesses:
• Young Asian women have higher rates of suicide compared to other
young women. Rates of self-harm are also of particular concern
amongst this group. Studies show that factors such as forced marriage
and pressure to do achieve highly at school (for male and female) may
lead to depression, suicide, loneliness, isolation, and/or self harm.
• Suicide rates are high in young Indian men and in East African men
and women (using suicide data 1988-92 and country of birth). A
national clinical survey of patient suicides in England and Wales,
External Services Scrutiny Committee
– Working Group on the transition from child to adult mental health services
17 th March 2008 Page 13
PART 1 – MEMBERS, PUBLIC & PRESS