4 February - Black Lives Matter
Taking
time off from watching glue dry - literally - I listened to Councillor Chris Taylor’s
mercifully short Health Scrutiny meeting this afternoon and found it marginally more interesting. The notable bits were as follows…
• The Health budget is under pressure from the elderly. (There are not more of them but their demands are rising.)
• The same is happening at the other end of the age spectrum, children in care being an extra burden since Covid. (For details see blog for 1st February.)
• It would not be legal to deprive people of care because of budgetary constraints. “Bexley is not in that place.”
• The make up of Bexley’s population is changing “dramatically” especially in the North of the borough where the proportion of “black African residents” has risen. In Bexley as a whole it is growing far faster than nationally.
• The black population has had a disproportionate impact on mental health facilities in other parts of
London and the phenomenon is being studied to see if it applies in Bexley too.
• The black population generally is less likely to seek mental health help but go on to be more frequently admitted to hospital.
• To counter the problem “black specific services” are being provided and also more general services trained to tackle the issue.
• Barbers are being trained to spot and advise on mental health issues.
• Councillor Bola Carew (Conservative, Bexleyheath) said she had not seen any black barbers’ shops in Bexley “and I wouldn’t think a black man would take themselves to a white barber’s saloon”.
• It was confirmed that so far no black barbers had expressed an interest in the project. Ten had in total and are being trained in Bexley by Mind.
As usual the guests at the meeting promised to provide Councillors with extras information later
but it is unlikely to find its way into the public domain.