Annette on being a strong voice for racial equity

“My role as a carer happened very unexpectedly. There were different feelings that I experienced – the embarrassment, the shame, the lack of knowledge, an element of guilt. As people from the Black community, we don’t want to allude that we have particular issues. We have to deal with that stigma. Sometimes it’s because we don’t understand what’s actually happening to our loved one.

I didn’t understand what it meant to have someone detained under the Mental Health Act. I wasn’t aware that at that time they had a police officer attached to the hospital, and I was thinking, ‘Why do you need the police?’ That was a worry. I didn’t want to deal with the police in that capacity because I’ve heard and I’ve seen how they treat people from the Black community differently from other races.

Going on the wards it was scary for me to see my loved one behind a glass door, dealing with the staff, dealing with a ward round, because I didn’t have the experience. That was a bit shocking, and I always wondered, was that necessarily the best way?

What people hear in the media also has a huge impact. People from my community would say, well, it’s South London and Maudsley, why would I want to be involved in anything associated with them? I think the reputation could be a lot better.

I want to be really involved in the improvement. It’s so important that people like me are there and can ask questions and raise concerns and just really speak from the true essence of who we are as people, and what we want to see done. It’s about getting people to acknowledge the problems and how we need to really systematically change the practices. Even though it’s really hard at times, I still want to be there.

I am hopeful, but I’m still aware that it’s not going to be something that’s going to happen overnight, but I think we still must do it. I think the fact that PCREF even exists, there’s a chance that things could change.”