Achieving race equality through training: a review of approaches in the UK
| Date | 01 May 2006 |
| Published date | 01 May 2006 |
| Pages | 5-11 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/17556228200600002 |
| Author | Joanna Bennett |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care |
5
Achieving race equality through training:
areview of approaches in the UK
Joanna Bennett
Workforce Development Lead, BCOF/SCMH and Visiting Professor at Middlesex University
The Journal of Mental Health Workforce Development Volume 1 Issue 1 May 2006 © Pavilion
Abstract
Social policy in the UK has subsumed race inequality
into a wider framework of inequalities, managing
diversity and social exclusion. However, the David
Bennett Inquiry and the Race Relations Amendment
Act (2000) have placed ‘race’ firmly back onto the
policy agenda, particularly within mental health
services. In response to the Inquiry and as part of a
wider strategy,the Department of Health has set
out proposals to improve mental health services to
black and minority ethnic (BME) communities.
Although there is a long history of race equality
training to address race inequality in public services
in the UK, the definition and effectiveness of race
equality training remains unclear.
This paper presents an overview of approaches to
training in the UK, the evidence of effectiveness and
explores whether cultural competency is an
appropriate and adequate framework to address
race inequality.
Key words
race equality training; diversity management;
training in cultural competence
Introduction
An action plan for Delivering Race Equality in Mental
Health Care and the Government’s response to the
recommendations of the Independent Inquiry into the
Death of David Bennett was published in early 2005. This
plan sets a framework for achieving equality and tackling
discrimination in mental health services for black and
minority ethnic (BME) people (DH, 2005). The David
Bennett Inquiry(2004) drew on the evidence directly
associated with the circumstances of the case and the
body of evidence that has accrued over the last three
decades of racial discrimination in mental health services
(eg, DH, 2001; Keating et al,2002) to make key
recommendations for change in the organisation and
delivery of mental health care to BME communities.
The inquiry report points to institutional racism in the
NHS broadly and in mental health services specifically
and recommended the need for both a diverse workforce
and race equality training to enable the delivery of more
equitable services. The Minister of Health acknowledged
the need for all mental health practitioners to be trained
in cultural competence (Guardian, 2004).
The actions set out by Delivering Race Equality (DRE)
to develop the workforce focuses on these two main
approaches: recruiting and supporting a diverse
workforce, and delivering a more culturally capable
workforce. Emphasis is given to the need to provide
mental health staff with the right skills to deliver
equitable and effective care to different racial and cultural
groups. The action plan sets out a programme of work to
map current education and training, to develop
appropriate race equality and cultural capability training
and to produce a common skills set for mental health
practitioners. DRE proposes that if the action plan is
successfully implemented, by 2010 mental health services
should be characterised by a workforce and organisation
capable of delivering appropriate and responsive mental
health services to BME communities.
Ethnic diversity in the workforce and race equality
training have long been credited with achieving positive
outcomes in terms of service improvements. Following a
public inquiry into the Brixton riots in 1981 the Scarman
report recommended the recruitment of more black
officers to improve the quality of policing to diverse
communities. This approach to addressing race inequality
was further reinforced by the MacPherson Report (1999),
which proposed that institutional racism within the
police force had negatively influenced the handling of the
inquiry into the racist murder of Stephen Lawrence and
recommended an increase in the number of black officers
and race equality training to improve relations with black
and minority communities. Despite the long history of
commitment to race equality training in the UK, little
effort has been given to defining what constitutes race
equality training or to evaluating the impact of training
on service outcomes in terms of race equality.
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