A prominent figure in Croydon's black community has called for a full public inquiry into the death of Olaseni Lewis. Nero Ughwujabo, chief executive of the Croydon Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) Forum, believes the Department for Health, as well as the police, have serious questions to answer.Of course he does...
Last month, the Advertiser reported how IT graduate Mr Lewis, 23, was pinned face-down on the floor in a hospital seclusion room by 11 police officers for 40 minutes. He never regained consciousness, and his life-support machine was switched off four days later.
Mr Ughwujabo said the case suggests the NHS's action plan, "Delivering Race Equality (DRE) in Mental Health Care", which began in 2005 in a bid to improve the quality of care received by BME patients, had "not gone far enough."Oh? Why?
"These incidents are still happening. We don't see evidence that race equality is actually embedded in mental health services provided by the NHS," he added. "We know that black people are significantly more likely to be physically restrained or medicated, instead of being supported with other therapies."I don't think the mental health staff and police do this for fun, you know? Nothing on TV, so they pop round for a bit of 'restrain the lunatic'?
And I rather doubt they'd feel that a raving white madman was somehow better than a raving black madman.
Sister Kemi Lewis, 34, who co-runs the Olaseni Lewis Campaign for Change and Justice alongside her parents, said her family’s Christian faith has strengthened them since Olaseni’s death. She said: "[We’re] hopeful that we will get some sort of justice and we’ll find out what the truth is. We want change and it needs to be from the top. We don’t want other families to go through this.And if the truth is 'We had to restrain your brother so he wouldn't hurt himself and others'? Will you accept that?
"This is not the kind of thing that you would wish on your worst enemy, at all."
Mr Lewis' mother Ajibola previously told us how her son was a 'gentle giant' with a 'zest for life'. She recalled: "He had a real sense of adventure and fun. He was a lovely, friendly person and wasn't afraid of new things."I'm sure he was, when he wasn't raving like a madman. And you've picked a nice smiley photo to tug at heartstrings in the paper.
But I suspect the demeanour and behaviour of Mr Lewis on the night in question was rather different...
11 comments:
11 plods lying on top of someone is not restraint--in any sense of the word. This took place in a hospital, it might have needed 11 to bring a real raging madman down but he should then have been heavily drugged not had a fucking rugby scum sit on him for 40 minutes.
The idea that this was done because he was black I don't buy. It should not have happened to anybody and should be looked into because it could happen to anybody with mental health problems.
This has got sod all to do with race. It shouldn't have happened at all.
There should be a full report on this.
Julia, you should know better and recognise that mental illness can happen at any time. So stop taking the michael.
Nobody has been challenged over this so far apparently, and that is just downright disgraceful.
Feral.
Mr 'Eck, funnily enough, well not really funny, black males are over represented in various mental health categories, and especially schizophrenia. This has echoes of so many similar cases over the years and the police WILL be to blame. There will be a reason why the gigantic and massively strong nutjob was unable to be medicated prior to any exam and assessment, hence the police having to remain there and be supplemented but they WILL be blamed. The race hustlers are out in force, seeking justice, i.e. to blame the police, but there was no one else to help and protect others, where were the family leading up to this incident, why wasn't the deceased more closely supervised by them and indeed the wider 'black community' that pulls together when there's a JB Sports to loot? Police to blame!
Mr Eck - "he should then have been heavily drugged
Ahuh that'd be my first resort...and from a safe distance with a dartgun... but I suspect it's not allowed to be, nor in a timely fashion and certainly not by the police.
"Delivering Race Equality in Mental Health Care"
Only way to do that is have more white patients or less black ones.
Take yer pick.
There is an elephant in the room.In my experience,and in a non-scientific way,the amount of young black males with mental problems seems to be massively out of proportion to their percentage in the population.When you speak to them when they are lucid it's clearly down to cannabis misuse.
As for this story,clearly 11 PC's were not holding this male down at once,it would be physically impossible.There were probably 11 PC's on scene overall.
If anyone else wants to wrestle a "gentle giant" with huge strength and no pain compliance then please take my place next time.
Jaded.
PS Julia you seem to have attracted a Gadget refugee in Feral.She is certainly an expert in mental health which you will notice as her mainly friendly posts at the moment will get more and more aggressive and unreasonable as time goes on.
Yet again, the Police have been called out to plug the gaps in the Mental Health Care system.
It should not be happening but it does - surprisingly often.
I remember one patient who would not take his medicine and we thought that would end up in a fight but we established that all he really wanted was a sandwich.
The staff lashed him up with a cheese sandwich and all was fine.
Part of the problem is that Units are so understaffed that they can just do their basic job, but cannot cope with any other incident or emergency.
Thank you anonymous.
I am certainly looking forward to the sparring on Julia's blog. I am very much looking forward to it.
Love mental Feral.
As Jaded said, the 11 number will have been those 'attending'.
As a nurse, with considerable experience of this sort of thing, the 'required and mandated' number of mental health nurses needed to restrain someone is seven (one for each arm and leg, one for torso, one to protect the head and one to supervise/evaluate/plan/organise).
Having seen such a team exhausted and injured in restraining a 5' 1" middle aged lady I can only suggest those who rail on these incidents should try it with a 6' 5", 16 stone 'youth' hopped up on Cannabis/meth/PCP. Fun it ain't!
As an aside, having worked (in the past) in Lewisham/Guys/Kings/St Thomas' - shouldn't the BME forum be disbanded and a new WME one started?
"... it might have needed 11 to bring a real raging madman down but he should then have been heavily drugged not had a fucking rugby scum sit on him for 40 minutes."
I can't imagine they did it without it being needed. If someone screwed up, fair enough.
But for fun? I don't buy that.
"Julia, you should know better and recognise that mental illness can happen at any time."
Who said I don't?
"The race hustlers are out in force..."
Aren't they always? :/
"There is an elephant in the room.In my experience,and in a non-scientific way,the amount of young black males with mental problems seems to be massively out of proportion to their percentage in the population."
I've seen a lot of speculation about that. But there's been no significant examination of it.
What are they afraid of finding out?
"Part of the problem is that Units are so understaffed that they can just do their basic job, but cannot cope with any other incident or emergency."
And if there's one place you really DO need to staff well, this is it!
"...the 'required and mandated' number of mental health nurses needed to restrain someone is seven ..."
Mandated by textbook, I suppose, rather than actual experience?
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