The Care Quality Commission’s The State of Health Care and Adult Social Care in England 2023/2024 report highlights significant issues across the healthcare system, noting that many people are not receiving the care they need. By examining primary and community care, adult social care, mental health, and secondary care, the report flags some of the challenges impacting Black, Asian, and minoritised ethnic communities, as well as individuals living in areas of deprivation, which often overlap with communities from these backgrounds.
We welcome the report’s attention to the fact that women from Black and ethnic minority backgrounds continue to be at greater risk of experiencing poor maternity care and outcomes. It also underscores substantial inconsistencies in how trusts collect and use demographic data—particularly ethnicity data—to address health inequalities within their local populations. Our work in London and other UK regions confirms these inconsistencies, highlighting data collection as a critical area for addressing health disparities.
Another pressing concern raised by the CQC is the quality of care and access for autistic individuals and people with learning disabilities, such as the lack of consistency when it comes to annual health checks. We know from our We Deserve Better report that the average age of death for people with a learning disability from an ethnic minority is 34 years, compared to 62 years of age for White individuals. To fix this disparity, annual health checks are a fundamental tool to improve this disparity.
The findings also place emphasis on how people in Black or Black British ethnic groups are over 3 and a half times more likely to be detained under the Mental Health Act than people in white ethnic groups. The clear discrimination taking place isn’t removing the agency and needs of this group. For example, our research investigated whether African and Caribbean people with a severe mental illness were aware of and accessing their physical health checks, an intervention which serves to detect and treat early signs of physical ill health.
Jabeer Butt, CEO of the Foundation explains:
“The report reinforces what has long been evident: individuals from Black, Asian, and minoritised backgrounds experience poorer outcomes within the healthcare system. We appreciate the CQC’s efforts in compiling these findings into a comprehensive report. Now, it is crucial for the government to act on these insights by implementing concrete recommendations to address these disparities, and we expect this commitment to be clearly reflected in the NHS’s 10-year plan.”
Read the full report here.