Findings from the first national statistics on the self-reported experience of patients in black and minority ethnic groups, produced by the Department of Health and the Healthcare Commission, show that black people in particularly continue to be effected by discrimination when trying to access appropriate health care.

The racism within mental health services hit the headlines with the publication of the David Bennett Inquiry report just five years ago. Bennett died in 1998, after he was forcibly restrained by a team of up to five nurses for almost half an hour. His pathology report revealed that he had three and a half times the British National Formulary limits of medication in his blood stream.  The public inquiry into his death brought to the nation's attention the systemic racism within mental health services, which has destroyed a generation of black Britons.

The Governments response to the public inquiry was to launch the Delivery Race Equality Programme in 2005, to address racism within mental health services. Three years after the programme was launched, African Caribbean patients, are still more likely to be over medicated, forcibly restrained and placed in seclusion than their white counterparts despite having similar rates of mental illness as any other ethnic group.  Disturbingly, the funding dedicated to address this problem has not reached this group.

This new survey, released last week shows that not only are black people more likely to face discrimination when accessing services, but they are also less likely to receive talking therapies, than their white counterparts.

Findings in this new report show marked differences between ethnic groups and how much say they have in their care and treatment, the amount of time given to discussing their diagnosis, the amount of trust and confidence they have in mental health professionals as well has how much information that is made available about support groups.

The report states, black patients are less likely to have a positive experience as outpatients or when using emergency services and are given less decision making in their care, treatment and quality of information made available to them than their white counterparts.

The findings in this report also show marked variances between ethnic groups in areas such as side effects of medication. These results show that black people in particular are affected by such  discrimination, which has effectively  blocked this groups access to psychological and talking therapies.

Paul Corry, director of public affairs at mental health charity Rethink, says that the findings highlight how the mental health care received by individuals is often connected to their ethnic background.

"All people with mental health problems should be offered the full range of appropriate treatment options, regardless of ethnicity, age, sexuality, or any other distinguishing factor. Talking therapy can be a life changing experience for people with a range of mental illnesses, and no ethnic group should be denied such a powerful treatment. While we welcome the more positive findings within the report, we feel it is essential that as the government continues to expand provision of psychological therapies it makes equal access a priority."

Three years after the Delivering Race Equality programme was launched, the wholesale absence of culturally appropriate black, led black run services for African Caribbean services users are almost non existent.  Questioned have been raised in many quarters as to where the funding for the programmes has actually gone.

Mental health service user Devon Marston said: "I really struggled to find a mental health service that suited my culture, something I could really relate to. I felt ostracised. There are plenty of people from minority backgrounds needing mental health services.'

With the over representation of African Caribbean patients within mental health services at crisis point, health experts have again stated the need for  dedicated funding to address the punitive and often damaging treatment meeting out to black patients,  if we are to avoid, more tragic losses, like that of David Bennett.

This new report, which is the first of what is expected to be an annual series, examines the self reported views of NHS patients, from different ethnic groups across a range of healthcare settings. 

IIt was released on 22 May 2008 according to the arrangements approved by the UK Statistics Authority.

Read the Report on self reported experience of patients from black and minority ethnic groups .