Your Voice Matters: Patient Carers Race Equality Framework (PCREF)

source: Catalyst 4 Change CIC
published: 13 February 2023

Catalyst 4 Change is working in partnership with Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Foundation Trust (BSMHFT) on the Patients Carers Race Equality Framework (PCREF) to challenge racial disparities in mental health care and improve access, experiences and outcomes for African and Caribbean communities.

PCREF looks at the key ‘organisational competencies’ that NHS mental health trusts need to develop to address the health inequalities experienced by many people. PCREF is a way of bringing together local Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities, service users; their carers and staff, to work together in partnership to look at how we implement the national PCREF competencies and develop local competencies as needed.

PCREF has three main elements:

• Part 1: Ensuring that Trusts deliver their statutory and regulatory obligations
• Part 2: Implementation of a framework of national organisational competencies
• Part 3: Development and implementation of a service user and carer feedback mechanism

The development of the Patient and Carer Race Equality Framework (PCREF) is being overseen by NHS England’s PCREF Steering Group and Advancing Mental Health Equalities Taskforce, established in February 2020.

The PCREF is currently a draft framework and being tested throughout 2022/23 by four PCREF pilot trusts; Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, East London NHS Foundation Trust, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, and Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, along with a number of self-selecting early adopter sites.

It is envisaged that by later in 2023 there will be a statutory requirement for all Mental Health Trusts to have in place and implement PCREF.

PCREF and the African Caribbean communities

In 2021 Catalyst 4 Change, Association of Jamaican National and Making Change Work were commissioned by BSMHFT to undertake a series of dialogues with Birmingham based African and Caribbean service users in psychiatric units and their carers; and in community settings including barber shops and hair salons and with faith communities.

We consulted over 100 African and Caribbean people and about their experiences and views of accessing mental health services and support experiences.

With the support of the Black Thrive Global Research Team we have analysed the data collected from these discussions and identified five key themes : Access, Advocacy, Complaints, Pathways and Representation. We have further reflected on these themes and prioritised 'Advocacy' to challenge poor practice and to promote advance race equalities across all mental health pathways.

The term advocacy is used in diverse ways in different contexts. Broadly speaking, advocacy refers to speaking out on an issue to bring about change in society, as is the case with civil rights movements, or to achieve change for an individual. Advocacy exists in different forms, but they all have their foundations in achieving greater social justice and equality.

In health and social care, advocacy is based on a recognition of power imbalances experienced by people using these services. Advocacy in these settings is concerned with supporting and promoting health and/or social care rights and improvements in services or policy initiatives concerned with the availability, safety, and quality of care.

Catalyst has now recruited a team of sessional PCREF Advisors from the African and Caribbean community to help us take this work forward. We will launch our implementation plan in March 2023.

We'll be providing further details soon!