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Count me in census

The Count me in census is a joint initiative between the Healthcare Commission, the Mental Health Act Commission, the Care Services Improvement Partnership and the National Institute for Mental Health in England.

This annual national census started in 2005 and will be carried out until 2010 in support of the Department of Health's five-year action plan for improving mental health services for black and minority ethnic communities. It counts all the inpatients in mental health and learning disability hospitals on one day of the year, including recording which ethnic groups they belong to.

The purpose of the Count me in census is to:

  • Record the number and ethnic groups of people who are inpatients in mental health and learning disability hospitals and services in England and Wales.
  • Encourage providers of such services to keep full and accurate records of patients' ethnicity, and to use this information for ethnic monitoring.
  • Provide information that will help service providers to take practical steps to tackle racial discrimination.

Count me in census 2008

The fourth count me in census was carried out on 31 March 2008. We collected information from 31,020 inpatients in mental health hospitals and 4,107 inpatients in learning disability hospitals in both the NHS and independent healthcare in England and Wales. The overall patterns emerging from this census are broadly similar to those observed in the previous years.

As in 2006 and 2007, the report of the census separates the findings relating to inpatients receiving mental health services with those receiving learning disability services. This allows comparisons to be made with the findings from 2006 and 2007 and those from the 2005 census, which did not include patients in learning disability services.

To access our national report on the 2008 census, click on the link below. To view the data files and methodology documents, visit our Publications library.

Count me in census 2007

The 2007 census was carried out on 30 March 2007. We collected information from 31,187 inpatients in mental health hospitals and 4,153 inpatients in learning disability hospitals. As well as recording the ethnicity and age of inpatients, the census also captured information about their stay in hospital, such as how they were referred, how long they had been inpatients, and whether they had been detained under the Mental Health Act.

Count me in 2006

The 2006 census was carried out on 31 March 2006. We collected information on the ethnicity of 36,632 patients with mental health problems and learning disabilities (including inpatients with autistic spectrum disorder and those with Asperger's syndrome). We also looked at details about a patient's stay in hospital, such as how they were referred to hospital, how long they had been an inpatient, and whether they had been detained under the Mental Health Act.

Find out more about the Government's action plan

The Government's five-year action plan "Delivering race equality in mental health care" is aimed at achieving equality and tackling discrimination in mental health services in England for people from black and minority ethnic groups. To find out more, click on the link below.

See also

Useful sites