'Count me in' shows lack of progress

The Healthcare Commission's annual census of mental-health inpatients - 'Count Me In' - has painted a gloomy picture of a lack of progress on mixed-sex wards and racial equality. The census found that 68% of inpatients are still being housed on mixed-sex wards; no improvement on last year. Women (78%) were more likely than men (61%) to be treated in a mixed-sex ward. People from Black and minority-ethnic groups were three times more likely to be detained than average, and up to 65% more likely to be secluded. After three years of censuses there has been no sign of movement towards improving racial inequalities in mental-health care.

You can download the full report at

http://www.healthcarecommission.org.uk/_db/_documents/Count_me_in_census_2008_Results_of_the_national_census_of_inpatients_in_mental_health_and_learning_disability_services.pdf