News in brief 2

Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health chief executive Dr Matt Muijen said in response to the Blofeld Inquiry into the death of David ‘Rocky’ Bennett that ‘black people’s confidence in mental health services cannot be gained until there are real and visible changes to the care they are offered’. He added that the government’s strategy, Delivering Race Equality, is ‘a step in the right direction’. Mr Bennett died at the Norvic Clinic in Norwich in 1998.

� www.scmh.org.uk

A £30m package has been distributed across Wales to implement the Wanless reform agenda at local level, with areas of greatest health need receiving the most funding, health minister Jane Hutt has announced. She said the funding would allow local health boards with their partners in local government to implement their own Wanless local action plans, ‘ensuring the reform agenda is delivered across the country’.

According to Sustain, Ofcom proposals for the future regulation of broadcast advertising ‘ignore the current crisis in public health and will do nothing to protect children from the detrimental effects of junk food advertising’. Its full response to the Ofcom consultation is available on its website.

� www.sustainweb.org

Surveys of 370,000 patients in 480 hospitals by the Commission for Health Improvement has revealed above-average dissatisfaction among people from Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities.

CHI said the report highlighted the need to improve the quality of services provided to people of minority ethnic origin, those who are very unwell or admitted to hospital on an emergency basis and residents of deprived areas.

� www.chi.nhs.uk

Ann McGuaran