The Race Relations (Amendment) Act (2000) requires that all NHS services put into effect an equalities policy. This includes the ethnic monitoring of patients.

This information should be used to adapt services to meet the diverse needs of the population served.

Recent research suggests that few existing CAMHS are structured to communicate with or meet the particular service needs of the diverse black and minority ethnic populations in Britain.

Children, young people and families from gypsy and traveller communities, asylum seekers and refugees may experience particular difficulties in accessing CAMHS.