Ethnicity & Mental Health Improvement Project
A new beginning... chapter... horizon...
What is EMHIP?
The Ethnicity and Mental Health Improvement Project (EMHIP) is an attempt to reduce ethnic inequalities in access, experience and outcome of mental health care.
EMHIP has been designed to be a practical, locality-based service improvement programme to bring about change for Black Minority Ethnic (BME) communities in mental health care. The aim of the programme is to reduce inequalities in three specific areas where BME communities fare worse: in access, experience and outcomes of mental health care.
EMHIP is a collaborative project involving the local mental health trust, South West London and St Georges Mental Health NHS Trust (SWLSTG), South West London Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) Merton & Wandsworth Locality, and networks of BME voluntary, faith and community groups, convened by the Wandsworth Community Empowerment Network (WCEN).
It has been known for a long time that there are ethnic disparities in mental health care in the UK. Numerous national inquiries and reports have highlighted this problem and local evidence confirms that ethnic inequalities in access, experience and outcome of mental health care are a major challenge within SWLSTG. That is why our Trust, along with Wandsworth Community Empowerment Network, has commissioned the Ethnicity and Mental Health Improvement Project, which will work to understand the nature and extent of ethnic disparities in mental health care and reduce them in south west London.
We have a real opportunity to do something different here, and as a Trust we are committed to working with our local community to achieve this.
Vanessa Ford
Chief Executive
South West London and St Georges Mental Health NHS Trust
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