FAQs
What’s the definition of Severe Mental Illness?
Severe Mental Illness (SMI) is a term used to describe all patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, bipolar affective disorder, other psychoses and patients on lithium therapy.
Why are people with SMI being offered health checks?
People living with severe mental illness (SMI) face one of the greatest health inequality gaps in England.
People with an SMI are three times more likely to attend Accident & Emergency (A&E) with an urgent physical health need and almost five times more likely to be admitted as an emergency. They are also at twice the risk of obesity and diabetes, three times the risk of hypertension and metabolic syndrome and have five times the risk for dyslipidemia than the general population.
This disparity in health outcomes is partly due to physical health needs being overlooked, both in terms of identification and in receiving appropriate treatment. Life-expectancy is reduced by an average of 15–20 years mainly due to preventable physical illness. A combination of factors including the side effects of anti-psychotic medication, lifestyle, diagnostic overshadowing and difficulties accessing mainstream health services can all contribute to the reduced life expectancy.
Individuals living with SMI are not consistently being offered appropriate or timely physical health assessments despite their higher risk of poor physical health. They are not being supported to use available health information and advice or to take up tests and interventions that reduce the risk of preventable health conditions. Having an annual physical health check, enables earlier interventions to take place, mitigating or reducing the impact of untreated illness or lifestyle choices, and enhancing the opportunity for longer, healthier lives. Personalised care planning is necessary to ensure people with SMI are supported to make the lifestyle and behaviour changes needed to achieve and sustain improvements in their physical health. Personalised care planning should address the full needs of the service user, taking steps to combat loneliness, isolation and promoting wider engagement in self-care, exercise, healthy eating and lifestyle.
What are the intended outcomes of the Health checks?
• Preventing people from dying prematurely
• Enhancing quality of life for people with long-term conditions
• Helping people to recover from episodes of ill-health or following injury
• Ensuring people have a positive experience of care
• Treating and caring for people in safe environments and protecting them from avoidable harm
Is it safe to visit my pharmacy or GP practice during COVID-19?
GP practices will be safe places to visit. There are measures in place to protect patients and staff. If you are concerned about getting COVID-19, it might be good to ring them beforehand to discuss what measures they have in place.
What is an Enhanced Personalised Care Plan?
Personalised care planning is necessary to ensure people are supported to make the lifestyle and behaviour changes needed to achieve and sustain improvements in their physical health. Personalised care planning should address someone’s full needs, taking steps to combat loneliness, isolation and promoting wider engagement in self-care, exercise, healthy eating and lifestyle.
An Enhanced Personalised Care Plan includes both physical and psychosocial needs:
• Setting personal physical health goals.
• Agreeing approaches to self-care
• Physical health referrals, social prescribing or onwards signposting.
• Follow-up care over the next 12 months to monitor progress against the care plan with revision and agreement of updated goals as appropriate.
• Identifying roles and responsibilities of named supporting professionals.
• Proactive follow-up on the results of assessments.
• Proactive outreach: peer support and voluntary sector
• A copy of the care plan will be shared at the end of the appointment.
What can you expect from your doctor?
A GP is a doctor that can give you treatment and care for your physical and mental health. Below is a link that explains how a GP decides what treatment and care to give you. And how to prepare for a GP appointment.