Richmond upon Thames is set to enhance its mental health services with a new strategy aiming to tackle racial inequality. The South West London Mental Health Strategy, now in its third year of implementation, has a clear objective to eliminate racial disparities in mental health care and reduce the mortality gap between individuals with severe mental illness (SMI) and the general population.
The strategy, which spans five years with ten-year outcomes, focuses on four key themes: prevention and early support, the bio-psycho-social model, addressing inequalities, and ensuring timely access to services. For the current year, the strategy prioritises improving mental health support for children and young people, transforming pathways for adults with SMI, and strengthening community networks.
Councillor Piers Allen, Chair of the Health and Wellbeing Board, highlighted the importance of addressing inequalities, noting that certain ethnic groups are disproportionately affected by mental health issues. Specifically, young black men are eight to 10 times more likely if you're 24 to 13, a black man going straight in on a section of the Mental Health Act with your white colleagues, but you're also not present in talking therapies earlier on in your life.
Furthermore, once under a Mental Health Act, they tend to stay four times longer than their white counterpart in a restrictive setting
and have almost twice the likelihood of when they're discharged from that setting and coming out under a community treatment order
.
The South West London Mental Health Strategy aims to eliminate racial inequality in mental health services
and Increased equity of service access to reflect community demographics with no unwarranted variation in outcomes
. It also seeks to have Eliminated racial inequality around overrepresentation of black people in detention, inpatient and crisis care
. Ian Garlington, Better Communities Programme Director at SWLSTG, stated that these efforts are about affecting the outcomes for specific people, which are above the norms that we would expect to see.
The strategy is actively looking at the public health data that actually drives back and says, what is it we need to do to make sure that those people access the earlier on steps through it?
Discussions at the Health and Wellbeing Board meeting on 12 March 2026 revealed a commitment to not only address existing inequalities but also to focus on preventative measures. The strategy emphasizes Prevention and early support
for children and young people. Ian Garlington explained, If we can get to a young person and provide an effective treatment pathway before they hit the age of 24 years old, they are unlikely to have another episode of serious mental illness for the rest of their adult life. If it goes past that point, they will have an enduring mental illness for the rest of their adult life.
The strategy also focuses on supporting families, as for some children, they're just seen as the naughty child in class or they're excluded from it and their autism prevents from going to schools. And if we can intervene earlier and help those families, because often, again, with young people, the symptomatic part isn't the child. It's actually supporting the family that needs the intervention as well.
The strategy also emphasises the importance of community networks and a bio-psycho-social approach, recognising that mental well-being is influenced by a complex interplay of biological, psychological, and social factors. By strengthening community support and adopting a holistic approach to care, Richmond aims to create a more inclusive and equitable mental health system for all its residents.
The strategy has set a ten-year outcome to Reduced the 'mortality gap' between those with SMI and the general population
.
More information on the South West London Mental Health Strategy can be found in the South West London Mental Health Strategy Update Cover Report.
For details on the Health and Wellbeing Board meeting, refer to the Public reports pack Thursday 12-Mar-2026 13.30 Health and Wellbeing Board.
