Errol Francis

Who is Errol Francis?

Errol Anthony Francis, born in Oracabessa, Jamaica in 1956, is an artist and mental health campaigner, living and working in London. He gained his MA Fine Art from Central St Martins College of Art and Design in 2004. He is currently a doctoral candidate at the Slade School of Fine Art, University College London.

His professional practice ranged from being a mental health carer, a mental health writer, consultant and campaigner, to running mental health charities and being a senior manager in the NHS.

He has co-authored of a number of inquiry reports and book chapters, e.g. Black People, Mental Health and the Criminal Justice System with Deryck Browne and Epidemiology, ethnicity and schizophrenia with S P Sashidharan. Francis was part of the independent public inquiry into a number of deaths of African Caribbean patients at Broadmoor Hospital and was co-author of the Big Black and Dangerous report into deaths of African Caribbean patients at Broadmoor Hospital. Francis was formerly Joint Programme Lead at the Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health and was co-author of Breaking the Circles of Fear a research report into the relationship of the African Caribbean community with the psychiatric services. The project aimed to promote inclusion and positive mental health for Black mental health service users, advising the Department of Health on their Delivering Race Equality programme.