Public services including the NHS are ‘reproducing’ trauma experienced by racialised communities rather than helping it to heal, according to a new report.
The study, Trauma-informed care and racialised communities, highlights how racism not only causes mental ill health but also prevents people from getting the support they need.
Produced by the Centre for Mental Health and Coffee Afrik CIC, the research found racialised communities are more likely to experience trauma linked to historical injustice, such as slavery, colonialism and segregation, as well as ongoing discrimination today.
Commissioned by the NHS Race and Health Observatory, the report points to the Windrush Scandal – a British political scandal that began in 2018 and stripped legal rights from long-standing residents – as an example of actions causing long-term psychological harm.
Researchers also found encounters with healthcare, policing, housing and social care can sometimes make distress worse.
Andy Bell, chief executive of the Centre for Mental Health, said: ‘Racial trauma is a root cause of mental ill health. Racism is one of the reasons why people from racialised communities in the UK experience higher rates of mental ill health and coercive treatment from mental health services.
‘Recognising the importance of racial trauma and partnering with community organisations can help mental health services to offer better support and to heal rather than harm.’
According to the report, overt racism is becoming more common and that divisive language from politicians and other public figures may be contributing.
To give context, in October 2025 Reform MP Sarah Pochin was criticised for using racist language after she complained about TV adverts being ‘full of black people, full of Asian people.’ A video of the incident can be found here.
Abdirahim Hassan, founder of Coffee Afrik CIC, added: ‘This report makes one thing clear: trauma does not happen in isolation. For racialised communities in the UK, trauma is layered and shaped by racism, migration, poverty, policing, housing injustice and historical harm. Too often, our systems reproduce that trauma rather than repair it.’
Professor Habib Naqvi, chief executive of the NHS Race and Health Observatory, said understanding of trauma and racism in services remained ‘patchy and inconsistent’.
The report, which can be read here, calls for mental health services to adopt anti-racist, trauma-informed approaches, supported by the Patient and Carer Race Equality Framework. It also says local NHS bodies should work with communities to ensure services meet the needs of racialised patients.
Image: Jon Tyson/UnSplash
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