Welcome to Mental Health Race and Culture (MHRAC)
This is the personal
web page of Suman Fernando. This site is intended to be a source of information
for people interested in issues around ‘race’ and ‘culture’ in relation to
mental health in western multi-ethnic societies, social and mental health care
in low income (‘third world’) countries and issues around racism in psychiatry.
I hope this site would be of use to
researchers, writers and mental health professionals.
I was a consultant psychiatrist in the British National Health Service for over twenty years until the mid-1990s. Since then I have been an academic, a writer and advisor on mental health practice and service provision. I was a member of the Mental Health Act Commission (a government inspectorate) for several years until 1995 where I chaired its National Standing Committee on Race and Culture. I am involved in voluntary organisations providing mental health services for minority ethnic communities in the UK and also for people in Sri Lanka. Here it is a list of my appointments.
I have an interest in matters
to do with legal safeguards for users of mental health services in the UK and
am involved in lobbying for changes in mental health service provision.
I have written several
books and published many papers. I have lectured and conducted seminars for
mental health professionals, academics in the fields of social care and mental
health, and others involved in mental health care in UK and Canada. My
interests and background (having been born and brought up in Sri Lanka) have
taken me latterly into becoming involved in work in Sri Lanka and researching
issues around mental health and mental health provision in low income
countries.
Who am I ?
I am a Hon. senior lecturer in mental health at Europian Centre for Migration & Social Care (MASC) at University of Kent. I am also a visiting professor in the Department of Applied Social Science at London Metropolitan University. More...
I have produced and published many articles and paper and books on field of mental heath, race and culture, including, "Cultural Diversity, Mental Health and Psychiatry: The Struggle Against Racism."
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New Mental Health Legislation on the way The government has announced its intention to amend the (current ) Mental Health Act 1983 in certain specified areas. More... Race Equality Impact assessment on Amended Mental Health Act |
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Whenever a policy or piece of legislattion is constructed, the relevent deparment has the obligation to carry out a Race Equality Impact Assessment (REIA) of it. More... |
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