A collaborative to support the physical health of people with a mental illness
Visit the Equally Well UK website
Some of the facts
- The life expectancy of someone living with schizophrenia in the UK is some 15-20 years shorter than someone without a mental illness: it is equivalent to the average life expectancy in the UK in the 1950s.
- Premature mortality among people with a mental illness is predominantly caused by poor physical health: by conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer.
Learn more about the physical health of people with mental health/substance misuse problems in this report.
The solutions
In October 2016, the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges published a landmark report setting out the changes that were needed to make a sustained impact on the physical health of people living with a mental illness.
It showed that this really is everyone’s business: from mental health services to primary care, hospital and community services, local authorities, charities, research bodies and many more.
The report identified much in the way of good practice in local areas across the UK and a widespread willingness to make a change. But it said a coordinated national effort would be needed to bring good practice to scale and support further innovation and improvement across the country. Read the report here.
Equally Well in the UK
Equally Well is an initiative from New Zealand which seeks to promote and support collaborative action to improve physical health among people with a mental illness. It is hosted in the UK by Centre for Mental Health in partnership with Rethink Mental Illness and leading professional clinical organisations including the Royal College of GPs and the Royal College of Psychiatrists.
Equally Well UK is co-produced with a Lived Experience Advisory Group convened by Rethink Mental Illness, a Clinical Group led by Royal Medical Colleges and a growing membership of organisations. All decisions are made jointly between these groups to ensure that everything we do is informed by people with extensive lived and professional experience.
We want to bring together health and care providers, commissioners, professional bodies, service user and carer organisations, charities and many more, working nationally or locally, to form a collaborative in the UK to bring about equal physical health for people with a mental illness.
Join us: pledge your organisation’s support and be part of this ground-breaking initiative. To find out more and pledge your support, visit the website or email shizana.arshad@centreformentalhealth.org.uk
