To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps the Government plans to take in response to the Healthcare Commission's finding in its report, Count Me In, that people from an ethnic minority are more likely to be misdiagnosed, overmedicated and placed in seclusion. (249514)

The Healthcare Commission published its report on the 2008 Count Me In census on 27 November 2008. Count Me In does not collect information about patients’ diagnosis or medication. The census reports since 2005 show that there is no consistent picture of differential treatment with regard to seclusion. Different ethnic groups have been recorded as more or less likely to be subject to seclusion each year.

In 2005 the Department launched ‘Delivering Race Equality in Mental Health Care’ (DRE). DRE is a five-year action plan designed to improve black and minority ethnic (BME) communities’ experience of mental health services.