Patient and Carer Race Equality Framework (PCREF)

What is PCREF? 

The Patient and Carer Race Equality Framework (PCREF) is a national programme that helps mental health services become fairer, safer, and more responsive for people from racialised and ethnic minority communities.

PCREF is built with the voices of patients, carers, staff, and local communities, and helps us: 

• Identify where unfair differences in care may exist
• Understand why these differences happen 
• Take action so everyone receives the care they need 

PCREF is part of our commitment to providing compassionate, inclusive, and anti-racist care for everyone across Kent and Medway. 

Why PCREF matters 

People from some communities have told us that they:

• have different experiences when accessing mental health support 
• sometimes feel less heard or less able to influence their care 
• face higher rates of Mental Health Act detention or restrictive interventions, such as restraint or seclusion 

Our Research team has worked closely with racialised communities to better understand these experiences, identify barriers to support, and explore what culturally responsive care should look like. This work continues to shape our priorities and guide how we improve our services.

PCREF gives us a shared plan for understanding people’s experiences and improving them, with communities guiding the change.

What we are focusing on right now 

We are working with patients, carers, families, staff, and our partner organisations on three key areas:

1. Using data to understand people better 

We are improving how we use NHS information systems (including PowerBI) so staff can better understand information like ethnicity, culture, language, or disability, and use this to create more personalised care plans.

2. Listening to experiences and taking action 

We are bringing together feedback from patients, carers, staff, and advocacy groups with health inequalities data to help shape and improve our services (such as making our services more culturally responsive or more accessible).

3. Tackling inequalities in specific areas 

Right now, we are prioritising: 

• • Access to dementia assessment and diagnosis for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities 
  • Reducing inequalities in Mental Health Act detentions 
  • Reducing inequalities in the use of restrictive practices 

How we work in partnership 

We know that meaningful change only happens by working together. We regularly listen and collaborate through: 

• Equity for All Group – our main PCREF partnership group 
• Triangle of Care – supporting and recognising the vital role of carers 
• Trust‑wide Patient Experience Group
• Local advocacy organisations and voluntary sector partners 
• Co-creation groups, community partners and Co-creation champions  

We want people to feel they can influence decisions, not just share feedback.

What’s coming next 

Over the next year, we will focus on: 

1. Supporting young people moving into adult mental health services 

Working with our new Children’s Directorate to improve equity for young people and ensure smoother, safer transitions.

2. Improving equity for neurodiverse children and young people 

Working with Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust to improve access to assessments and support, especially for racialised communities. 

3. Strengthening relationships with local communities 

Launching a BAME Co‑Creation Hub so people can share their views safely and work with us on improvements, helping us build stronger relationships with racialised and ethnically diverse communities.

Get Involved 

We welcome your experience, ideas and feedback.
You can share as much or as little as you feel comfortable, every voice helps guide change.

Contact:
Kamila Lobuzinska - PCREF Lead
Kamila.lobuzinska@nhs.net

Alternatively you can register your interest to join our co-creation network.