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A Welsh Government plan to tackle racism will address information gaps around the impact of mental health among ethnic minorities, a top doctor has said. 

Figures produced for Gwent’s Aneurin Bevan University Health Board (ABUHB) have shown 64% of people confirmed or suspected to have died by suicide were white – with the remaining percentage’s ethnicities either not known or not recorded. 

But Dr Liz Andrew, consultant clinical psychologist for the health board, said it is hoped there will be better information about other ethnic backgrounds as a result of the Anti-Racist Wales Action Plan, which was introduced by the Welsh Government in response to the Black Lives Matter wave of global protests in 2020. 

Dr Andrew was briefing members of Monmouthshire Council on the board’s mental health services when Labour councillor Dale Rooke asked why the health board hadn’t recorded the ethnicity of the remaining 36% of confirmed or suspected suicide deaths. 

“Surely as a proportion of the population they are much higher,” said Cllr Rooke.

The black, Asian and minority ethnic population of most Gwent boroughs is around 2% or less, though the figure is 14.1% in Newport.

Dr Andrew said the board was also “curious and a bit perturbed” at the lack of accurate information. She said this could be due to moving to a different recording system, though it is also hoped the Welsh Government’s policy will help. 

“It will be addressed by the Anti-Racist Wales Action Plan. I think there has been some discomfort around asking about ethnicity and these figures are from 2021. The Anti-Racist Wales Action Plan is changing that and we are doing some internal training. 

“I think people who have white privilege feel uncomfortable asking about that, particularly when someone isn’t clearly from a minority ethnic group – and we are addressing that through mandatory training.” 

ABUHB also has a mental health worker in Newport, which Dr Andrew said has “lots of refugees and asylum seekers”, from a minority ethnic group who “works in a very different way and follows what is good practice to access black and minority ethnic communities”. 

She gave examples of using different languages and asking people to attend appointments in different settings, rather than mental health facilities, due to stigma. 

“There is an uptake in wellbeing services in that area,” said Dr Andrew, who also said the board is aware of the issue around data. She added: “I think it has improved already.”