National statistics for the number of people detained under the Mental Health Act in England over the past year have been published, showing a detention rise of 4.5%.
The findings from 2020-21 reveal have revealed some concerning statistics, with detention rates higher by 4.5% and the rates of detention for black and black British people over four times those of white people.
53,239 new detentions under the Mental Health Act were recorded, but the overall national totals will be higher as not all providers submitted data, and some submitted incomplete data. This is estimated as a detention increase of 4.5 per cent from last year.
Comparisons can still be made between groups of people using population-based rates, even though the rates shown are based on incomplete data. Known detention rates were higher for males (94.8 per 100,000 population) than females (87.9 per 100,000 population).
Amongst adults, detention rates tend to decline with age. Known detention rates for the 18 to 34 age group (142.5 detentions per 100,000 population) were around 56% higher than for those aged 65+ (91.6 per 100,000 population).
Amongst the five broad ethnic groups, known rates of detention for the ‘Black or Black British’ group (343.5 detentions per 100,000 population) were over four times those of the White group (74.7 per 100,000 population).
Known rates of Community Treatment Order (CTO) use for males (13.2 per 100,000 population) were higher than the rate for females (8.3 per 100,000 population). Across age groups, those aged 35 to 49 had the highest rate of CTO use (18.3 known uses per 100,000 population compared to 10.7 uses per 100,000 population for all age groups).
Amongst broad ethnic groups, known rates of CTO use for the ‘Black or Black British’ group (78.9 uses per 100,000 population) were over ten times the rate for the White group (7.8 uses per 100,000 population).
To read the full report, click here.