Time for Our Ethnic Voices: Experiences of unpaid carers of Black men with a Severe Mental Illness
Healthwatch Lambeth spoke with 6 Black carers about their experiences of caring for male family members with a Severe Mental Illness (SMI). The aim was to understand their experiences of caring, their interactions with services and how services meet their and their loved ones needs.
Carers were given the opportunity to express their experiences creatively, with one carer choosing to do so through a poem.
Key findings
Many carers did not recognise themselves as such until formally acknowledged, often feeling invisible and undervalued. Their involvement in care planning for their relatives was inconsistent, with some reporting collaboration while others felt excluded from decisions. Effective communication with professionals was essential, with carers valuing proactive engagement but sometimes struggling to access clear, timely information about their relatives’ care.
Some carers described care plans that were culturally sensitive and personalised, while others felt that cultural considerations were overlooked. Carers also shared examples of perceived discrimination and racial bias towards their relatives and themselves.
All carers highlighted the importance of carers’ meetings as offering vital emotional and practical support.
Implications for service development
The report highlights the need for better support for unpaid carers in mental health services, with early recognition, active engagement, and improved communication from professionals. Bias and stigma should be addressed to ensure equitable care, through training and the full implementation of the Patient and Carer Race Equality Framework (PCREF). Finally, more promotion of accessible support for carers is needed, particularly for diverse communities.
The insight in this report was provided by a small number of people, and therefore, we cannot assume that the feedback is reflective of all carers. However, the findings align with existing research underscoring the challenges Black carers face, as well as with the insight provided by Black male service users in our report ‘A Fulfilling Life, What Matters to Me’.
Read the full report below.
Downloads
This work accompanies and complements ‘A Fulfilling Life, What Matters to Me’, our report exploring the experiences of Black male service users with a Severe Mental Illness (SMI) in Lambeth.
