Detentions under the Mental Health Act
Published
1. Main facts and figures
- in the year to March 2023, black people were 3.5 times as likely as white people to be detained under the Mental Health Act – 228 detentions for every 100,000 black people, compared with 64 for every 100,000 white people
- the black ‘other’ group had the highest rate of detention out of all ethnic groups (715 detentions for every 100,000 people)
- the lowest detention rates were in the Chinese (52 for every 100,000 people), Indian (55 for every 100,000 people), white British (63 for every 100,000 people) and white Irish (69 for every 100,000 people) ethnic groups
- detention rates for 2022-23 are significantly lower than previous years, which can be at least partly explained by changing populations rather than actual changes in the number of detentions. The most recent data uses population estimates based on the 2021 census, whereas detention rates for 2021-22 use mid-year 2020 population estimates based on the 2011 census.
Further analysis
A 2019 study on disparities in the use of Mental Health Act among ethnic groups found either no explanation for the variation in risk of detention, or inadequate evidence to support explanations such as “higher comorbid drug use in ethnic groups, language barriers, poorer detection of mental illness and greater stigma of mental health issues”.
In response to the Independent Review of the Mental Health Act, the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) awarded grants for research to reduce detention rates and readmission particularly for people from ethnic minorities as well as research to improve the experiences of black African and black Caribbean patients if they are detained.
2. Things you need to know
What the data measures
The data measures rates of detention under the Mental Health Act 1983.
The data includes people who were detained (or ‘sectioned’) in hospital for assessment or treatment under the act.
Detention rates are rounded to the nearest whole number.
Find out more about the Mental Health Act 1983.
Not included in the data
The data does not include detentions under section 136 that take place in non-healthcare settings, for example police cells.
How detention rates are calculated
For each ethnic group, the detention rate is the number of detentions under the act in healthcare services for every 100,000 people in the general population.
Detention rates have been adjusted to allow different ethnic groups to be compared as if they had the same age profile (the number of people of different ages within an ethnic group). As a result, the estimates do not show the actual detention rates for each ethnic group.
The ethnic groups used in the data
The data uses the list of 16 ethnic groups from the 2001 Census. These ethnic groups were slightly different from those used in the 2021 Census.
Methodology
Read the detailed methodology document for the background data quality report for the year to March 2023 (Mental Health Act Statistics).
Detention rates for the 5 ‘other’ ethnic groups (for example, black ‘other’ and any ‘other’) may be overestimated. This is because groups labelled ‘other’ may have been used for people whose ethnicity was not known.
Because of this, rates for groups that are not ‘other’ categories may be underestimated.
Detention rates in the year to March 2023 are likely to be underestimated for all ethnic groups. This is because not all NHS providers submitted complete data during the period covered.
Overall data for the year to March 2023 is 3.80% lower than for the previous year. It is difficult to say what the cause behind this may be.
Improved data quality in the year to March 2022 means that the actual increase in detention rates is likely to be less than shown. Based on the providers that submitted good quality detentions data in each of the last 6 years, detentions went down by an estimated 7.7% between March 2022 and March 2023. Providers who submit good quality data are considered to be those who submitted a full 12 months of data in each of the financial years.
Detention rates may not add up to the total for all ethnic groups. This is because the data includes people whose ethnicity was not known or not stated.
Detention rates have been adjusted to allow different ethnic groups to be compared as if they had the same age profile (the number of people of different ages within an ethnic group). As a result, the estimates do not show the actual detention rates for each ethnic group.
Detention rates for 2022 to 2023 are calculated using mid-year population estimates based on the 2021 census. These population estimates are significantly different to the mid-year 2020 population estimates, which are based on the 2011 census
In the data file
Download the data for confidence intervals for each ethnic group.
Find out more about how confidence intervals are used to determine how reliable estimates are.
3. By ethnicity (5 ethnic groups)
| Ethnicity | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number per 100,000 | Number per 100,000 | Number per 100,000 | Number per 100,000 | |
| Asian | 105 | 105 | 111 | 75 |
| Black | 322 | 344 | 342 | 228 |
| Mixed | 214 | 222 | 228 | 157 |
| White | 73 | 75 | 72 | 64 |
| Other | 196 | 210 | 208 | 107 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity (5 ethnic groups)’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity (5 ethnic groups)’ (CSV)
Summary of Detentions under the Mental Health Act By ethnicity (5 ethnic groups) Summary
The data shows that:
- out of all ethnic groups, black people were most likely to be detained under the Mental Health Act in the year to March 2023, with 228 detentions for every 100,000 people
- the next highest rate of detention was for people in the mixed ethnic group – 158 detentions for every 100,000 people
- white people had the lowest rate of detention – 64 detentions for every 100,000 people
4. By ethnicity (16 ethnic groups)
| Ethnicity | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | Value | Value | Value | |
| Asian | 105 | 105 | 111 | 75 |
| Bangladeshi | 136 | 141 | 152 | 78 |
| Indian | 72 | 70 | 75 | 55 |
| Pakistani | 121 | 113 | 129 | 70 |
| Asian other | 136 | 147 | 140 | 117 |
| Black | 322 | 344 | 342 | 228 |
| Black African | 232 | 291 | 281 | 158 |
| Black Caribbean | 276 | 287 | 281 | 223 |
| Black Other | 811 | 764 | 760 | 715 |
| Mixed | 214 | 222 | 228 | 158 |
| Mixed White and Asian | 94 | 101 | 104 | 69 |
| Mixed White and Black African | 198 | 269 | 210 | 139 |
| Mixed White and Black Caribbean | 195 | 172 | 194 | 102 |
| Mixed Other | 369 | 390 | 406 | 288 |
| White | 73 | 75 | 72 | 64 |
| White British | 71 | 72 | 69 | 63 |
| White Irish | 70 | 67 | 62 | 69 |
| White Other | 147 | 149 | 149 | 86 |
| Other | 196 | 210 | 208 | 107 |
| Chinese | 54 | 60 | 64 | 52 |
| Other Ethnic groups | 468 | 502 | 492 | 171 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity (16 ethnic groups)’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity (16 ethnic groups)’ (CSV)
Summary of Detentions under the Mental Health Act By ethnicity (16 ethnic groups) Summary
The data shows that:
- in the year ending March 2023, black Caribbean people had the highest rate of detention out of all ethnic groups (excluding groups labelled ‘other’), with 223 detentions for every 100,000 people
- the next highest rates of detention were for the black ‘other’, mixed ‘other’, and any ‘other’ ethnic groups – however, these rates are considered to be overestimates because ‘other’ categories may have been used for people whose specific ethnicity was not known
- actual detention rates for people in ethnic groups not labelled as ‘other’ may be underestimated, particularly those within the black ethnic groups
- the lowest detention rates were in the Chinese (52 for every 100,000 people), Indian (55 for every 100,000 people), white British (63 for every 100,000 people), and white Irish (69 for every 100,000 people) ethnic groups
5. Data sources
Source
Mental Health Services Data Set
Type of data
Administrative data
Type of statistic
Official statistics
Publisher
NHS Digital
Publication frequency
Yearly
Purpose of data source
The Mental Health Services Data Set (MHSDS) has information about people who are in contact with mental health, learning disabilities and autism services. It uses clinical and operational data for purposes other than direct patient care.
6. Download the data
This file contains the following: measure, year, ethnicity, ethnicity type, numerator, denominator, crude rate, standardised rate, confidence interval