Towards Inclusive Healthcare: Rethinking mental health services for Black African and Caribbean communities in Southwark

This project was driven by evidence that people from Black African and Caribbean backgrounds face inequalities in accessing mental health care, as well as in their experiences of care and the quality of treatment outcomes.

We started this project in 2023, gathering general perspectives on mental health services. Following guidance from our participants, we shifted our focus to investigate Black men’s preferences for non-clinical mental health services, aiming to understand how these services can promote access to inclusive and culturally appropriate care.

Based on these findings, we developed a set of recommendations for care providers. We asked providers to respond formally to these recommendations, to demonstrate what they are doing, or what they will do, to improve their services. Responses from providers are linked below. Outstanding responses will be added on a rolling basis.

We also created a directory of mental health services that provide non-clinical support for Black Southwark residents. Click here to search the directory.

If you have any questions or comments about this project, please contact ruman@healthwatchsouthwark.org