The David Bennett Inquiry was held in the UK to look into the death of David "Rocky" Bennett on 30 October 1998 in a medium secure psychiatric unit in
Norwich
Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...
, after being restrained by staff.
David Bennett was a 38-year-old African-Caribbean patient, who had had mental illness for 18 years, and had a diagnosis of
schizophrenia
Schizophrenia () is a mental disorder characterized variously by hallucinations (typically, Auditory hallucination#Schizophrenia, hearing voices), delusions, thought disorder, disorganized thinking and behavior, and Reduced affect display, f ...
. The inquiry concluded that there was
institutional racism
Institutional racism, also known as systemic racism, is a form of institutional discrimination based on Race (human categorization), race or ethnic group and can include policies and practices that exist throughout a whole society or organizati ...
within the mental health services.
The inquiry into the death of David 'Rocky' Bennett recommended that training in cultural competencies should become of paramount importance (Department of Health, 2003).
The incident under mental health services (leading to his death) is widely known. After racial abuse from a different patient in the same room, a fight occurred and David Bennett alone was removed from the room. The resentment of being targeted for blame has been understandably linked to his physical attack on a nurse afterwards. His subsequent physical restrainment included giving a dose of medication that is above the recommended limit (in the British National Formulary), and this directly preceded his tragic death.
See also
*
Stephen Lawrence
Stephen Adrian Lawrence (13September 1974 – 22April 1993) was an 18-year-old black British citizen from Plumstead, southeast London, who was murdered in a racially motivated attack while waiting for a bus on Well Hall Road, Eltham, on the ...
External links
Blueprint to eradicate discrimination in the Mental Health Services, UK
Public inquiries in the United Kingdom
History of mental health in the United Kingdom
People with schizophrenia
Racially motivated violence in England
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