Black people in Milton Keynes, Luton and Bedfordshire almost three times more likely to be sectioned under Mental Health Act
Black people in Milton Keynes, Luton and Bedfordshire are almost three times as likely to be detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 as white people, new figures show.
People with a mental disorder who are considered at risk of harm to themselves or others may be formally detained in hospital (or 'sectioned') Under the Mental Health Act 1983.
But the rates of people being detained in Milton Keynes, Luton and Bedfordshire vary greatly depending on ethnicity.
Mental health charity Mind said the "worsening" of racial inequalities in mental health crisis care "is a shocking indictment of the UK Government".
The Mental Health Bill is aimed at changing the Mental Health Act by tightening the detention criteria, limiting the period people with autism or a learning disability can be detained as well as removing prisons and police stations as 'places of safety'.
NHS England figures show that 875 detentions under the Mental Health Act were recorded in the NHS Milton Keynes, Luton and Bedfordshire Integrated Care Board area in 2024-25. This is an average of 86.2 detentions per 100,000 people.
When broken down by ethnicity, around 67 per 100,000 white people in the area were detained last year, while the figure rose to around 88 per 100,000 for Asian people.
The number jumps even more dramatically to 167 per 100,000 people being detained for those with a mixed ethnic background and a staggering 185 per 100,000 for black people.
Across England, 52,731 detentions under the Act were recorded in 2024-25, representing an average of 90 detentions per 100,000 people.
The rate stood at around 67 per 100,000 for white people and 86 per 100,000 for Asian people, and jumped to 122 per 100,000 for people with a mixed ethnic background and to 257 per 100,000 for black people.
This means that black people were almost four times (3.8) more likely to be detained under the Act in 2024-2025 then white people.
This rose from the previous year, when they were 3.4 times more likely.
NHS England said the data is incomplete and counts and rates are lower than the true figures.
Dr Sarah Hughes, chief executive of Mind, said: "These shameful figures show the human cost of inaction on mental health.
"The racial inequalities in mental health crisis care are longstanding but the fact they are worsening is a shocking indictment of the UK Government.
"Mental health services are failing black people."
Alexa Knight, director of England at the Mental Health Foundation, said: "Racial inequalities in mental health detentions and care are unacceptable; and have been known about without action being taken for far too long."
She added: "Everyone deserves fair and compassionate treatment when experiencing a mental health crisis.
We urge the Government to act swiftly to address these longstanding injustices."
The data also shows that detention rates fluctuated depending on how poor an area was.
The most deprived areas were 3.7 times more likely than those in the least deprived areas to be detained under the Act.
In the NHS Milton Keynes, Luton and Bedfordshire Integrated Care Board area, these figures stood at 34.7 per 100,000 people for the least deprived decile and 185.4 per 100,000 people for the most deprived.
Rebecca Gray, mental health director at the NHS Confederation, said living in deprived areas can mean more exposure to "increased social stressors for people with ongoing or emerging serious mental illnesses", including poverty and a lack of housing or employment.
An NHS spokesperson said: "These ethnic disparities are unacceptable, and the NHS is taking action to reduce racial inequalities for people with mental health – this year all mental health providers are required to report on work to implement concrete actions to reduce racial inequality within their services."