Black church leaders call for more humane treatment of mentally ill

Black church leaders and mental health campaigners have urged mental health carers to find alternatives to the use of police restraint on patients after the recent death of a mentally ill student.

Olaseni Lewis died on September 3, three days after he was restrained at the Bethlem Royal Hospital in Beckenham, London, by a team of seven police officers. The 23-year-old had been studying for his masters in IT and business management at Kingston University when his mental health began to deteriorate.

His death has led to calls from the Black Mental Health (BMH) advocacy group and church leaders for an end to the use of police restraint on mental health patients.

BMH said it highlighted the failure of the Government’s multi-million pound race equality programme, rolled after an inquiry into the death of David Bennett, an African Caribbean patient who died in 1998 after being restrained by a team of five nurses.

The inquiry concluded that institutional racism was prevalent in Britain’s mental health services and made a number of recommendations, including the appointment of a National Director of Mental Health and Ethnicity in the NHS and training in cultural awareness and sensitivity for all mental health workers.

BMH director Matilda MacAttram called for accountability after the death of any mental health patient.

“There needs to be a commitment to properly implement the Bennett Inquiry recommendations if we are to see any change in this arena,” she said.

Rev Paul Grey, of the New Testament Church of God, was among local church leaders voicing their concern over Lewis’ death.

“Rather than spending billions on medication, investment should be made in devising more humane intervention when dealing with people who need help,” he said.

“We need to come to a place where there is no restraint in the 21st century. We should be able to find other techniques which aren’t killing people.”

Pastor Desmond Hall, chair of Christians Together in Brent, added: “There must be a change in the way police treat those who are suffering from mental illness. We have been lobbying over this issue for over five years and are saddened to see things are actually getting worse.”