HUNDREDS of detentions of people with mental health issues were made in Bradford and Craven in the year to March 2023, new figures show.

A mental health charity has called the figures a symptom of a "broken" mental health system.

Under the Mental Health Act, people with a mental disorder people can be detained – also known as being sectioned – if they are judged to be a danger to themselves or other people.

Figures from the NHS show around 565 detentions were made in the former NHS Bradford District and Craven CCG area in the year to March 2023 – or 95 for every 100,000 people in the area.

This was up from the year before, when 475 detentions were made.

Across England there was a slight drop in mental health detentions – there were 51,300 in the year to March 2023, compared to 53,300 the year before.

But the NHS has warned a cyber-attack on certain mental health providers has meant some data is missing or has had to be estimated.

As a result, the figures for 2022-23 may be higher.

Dr Sarah Hughes, chief executive of Mind, said: "These numbers show that the mental health system is broken – far too many people are still reaching crisis before they get any support."

She added: "Many of the tens of thousands of people who were detained under the Mental Health Act tried to seek help earlier, but the lack of options for accessing care in communities and long waiting lists meant they became more unwell.

"The numbers also show just how deeply embedded racial injustice is in our society – while some improvement has been made, black people are still less likely to get support for their mental health when they first start to struggle, and far more likely to be detained and subject to excessive restrictions."

There were 225 detentions of those described as black per 100,000 people – compared to 65 per 100,000 for white people.

Mind is calling on whoever forms the next Government to "urgently prioritise" an overhaul of the Mental Health Act.

Younger adults have a higher detention rate than older – 136 per 100,000 people for those aged 18 to 34, compared to 85 for those 65 and over.

Sasha Bhat, director for Healthy Minds at Bradford District and Craven Health and Care Partnership, said: “We understand the importance of people having a choice about how and where they receive care, and we work closely with them and their carers to provide this in community-based settings as much as possible.

"We aim to avoid anyone being lawfully sectioned under the Mental Health Act, only doing so after they are assessed by health professionals if we are concerned for their safety or someone else's safety.

“Respecting rights is one of the three ambitions of the new Healthy Minds strategy, and as part of this we are working hard to offer all our communities fair and culturally appropriate access to mental health services.

"We’ve been working with the Centre of Mental Health to understand the impact racism and racial prejudice can have on people’s health and on them accessing mental health support.

"Findings from this insight will ultimately help more people get culturally appropriate care from mental health specialists with the skills and understanding to support their needs and promote recovery.

"This will be done through new mental health services for ethnically and culturally diverse communities across Bradford District and Craven.

"The services will offer direct mental health support, with a key focus on supporting discharge from hospital into community mental health support settings.

“Early intervention can prevent significant mental health problems from developing later in life.

"To support this, Mental Health Support teams have been rolled out in schools to help young people (school age) who may be struggling with mild to moderate mental health difficulties, as well as supporting their schools to adopt a whole school approach to mental health and wellbeing.

“Visit Healthy Minds website to find mental health information, advice and support for people of all ages in Bradford, Airedale, Wharfedale and Craven.”

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said the Government is going "further and faster" to improve mental health services, including £2.3 billion invested annually from this year, and £150 million for people experiencing mental health crises.

They added: "We are also continuing to pilot models of Culturally Appropriate Advocacy, providing tailored support to hundreds of people from ethnic minorities to better understand their rights when they are detained under the Mental Health Act."