Improving Physical Health For People With Mental Health Problems

Venue: ICO Conference Centre
22 Berners Street
London
W1T 3DD

Date: 9 Dec 2014

Synopsis: This conference takes a practical case study based approach learning from organisations that have succeeded in addressing the challenge of improving the physical health of people with mental health conditions.

Details:

"There is compelling evidence that people with a mental illness or a learning disability die earlier than the general population. This says something, of course, not only about the services available to support these problems, but also how we, as a society, treat people with a mental illness or a learning disability. This must change. This is an issue that goes to the heart of parity – the Government’s drive to ensure equal priority for mental and physical health in services, testing our ambition to reduce premature avoidable mortality for all people in society." Norman Lamb MP, Minister of State for Care and Support, Recognising the importance of physical health in mental health and intellectual disability BMA May 2014

“Of the 300,000 patients with serious mental health (SMI) conditions in England, such as bi-polar, psychosis and schizophrenia, many are dying of the same conditions as the general population, but up to 15 years earlier; they have the life expectancy of people living in the 1950s.” NHS England May 2014

NHS England have recently introduced a national financial incentive for mental health trusts to deliver lifestyle MOTs carrying out the checks, including smoking status, diet, weight, blood pressure, glucose and fats or lipids, and ensuring identified illnesses are treated.

Dr Geraldine Strathdee, NHS England’s National Clinical Director for Mental Health, said: “We are committed to making sure that mental health is treated the same way as physical health and NHS England is working hard to close the gap between the two with great support from partners and the field.The national financial incentive we have introduced this year for trusts is the world’s largest ever initiative in improving physical health in people with severe mental ill health conditions and will be a clinical quality game changer. It’s England’s first significant landmark in this area… The move is just one of a number by NHS England to make sure the physical health of people with serious mental illness is treated in the same way as for the rest of the population and also taken as seriously as mental health in the inpatient setting.”

Follow this conference on Twitter #physicalmental

URL:
http://www.healthcareconferencesuk.co.uk/improving-physical-health-people-mental-healthconditions

Contact:
Kerry Tarrant Healthcare Conferences UK 01932 429933 kerry@healthcareconferencesuk.co.uk