– SEVERE MENTAL ILLNESS
Closing the Physical Health Gap
People living with severe mental illness face some of the widest health inequalities of any group, including a life expectancy 15 to 20 years shorter than the general population, driven largely by preventable physical illness. We work to close that gap.
Since 2022, our team has been working to improve annual physical health checks for people living with severe mental illness across Northamptonshire. Below, you’ll find what we’ve achieved together and how we’re extending that work now.
Current Community Offer
We currently have two offers for community organisations supporting people with severe mental illness. Both are fully funded and free to your organisation. Pick one, take both, or just talk it through first.
Online Training for Your Team
Flexible and tailored online training from our primary care experts, designed to educate your team and help them support service users with their physical health.
WHAT WE WILL COVER
- Severe mental illness and physical health: why the gap exists
- The annual physical health check: what it is and why it matters
- Common barriers for your service users
- Helping your service users access healthcare services
- How to access ongoing specialist email advice.
Sessions for Service Users
Our group sessions are designed to help service users overcome barriers to accessing health checks. We also use the feedback gained in these sessions to improve health care pathways.
WHAT WE WILL DO TOGETHER
- Discuss the importance of physical health checks
- Provide practical support for overcoming barriers
- Personalised signposting and referrals
- Suggest improvements to physical health services
- Co-create information leaflets for other service users
Why it Matters
People with severe mental illness face structural barriers to physical healthcare. Memory and concentration issues can make appointments hard to book and attend. Anxiety can make GP practices feel inaccessible. Side effects of psychiatric medication compound physical health risks. And clinical encounters can feel rushed, especially when mental health takes up most of the appointment and physical health gets less attention.
The annual SMI physical health check is one of the most direct interventions we have to close the gap. But people only benefit if they can actually access it. That’s where this work begins.
GP practices and other health care providers across Northamptonshire have been working hard to improve the quality of the annual health check, but there is more work to do on reducing stigma, increasing engagement, and removing barriers.
Our Track Record
6-POINT SMI ANNUAL PHYSICAL HEALTH CHECKS – NORTHAMPTONSHIRE
2021/22
15%
2022/23
61%
TODAY
71%
We helped Northamptonshire ICB improve uptake for 6-point annual health check and achieve the national target by year 2, taking them from the lowest performance in the Midlands region, to second highest nationally.
We did it by combining clinical leadership with hands-on, practical support: data quality work offered to every GP practice, training for outreach teams, co-produced communications, and 1-2-1 support for GP practices.
Our current contracts build on that foundation, extending the work into neighbourhoods and community settings, alongside the VCFSEs who hold the trust of the people we most need to reach.
Health Care Provider Offer
We offer support to GP practices and other health care providers delivering annual physical health checks for patients with a severe mental illness. Training and 1-2-1 support is fully funded by Northamptonshire ICB and comes at no cost to you.
Making Every Review Count
Our online training sessions for healthcare professionals are designed to ensure every 12-point health check is delivered and coded correctly, reducing the need for additional appointments.
WHAT YOU WILL GAIN
- Develop greater understanding of SMI and physical health
- Enhanced knowledge of intervention referral pathways
- Reviews coded right first time, every time
- Advice and support to make reasonable adjustments
- Tips to build better rapport with patients
Data Analysis and Quality
Support for administrators can be delivered online or at your clinic and provides tools and resources to help ensure data quality and improve your end-of-year achievement.
WHAT YOU WILL GAIN
- Understanding of local service requirements
- Advanced knowledge clinical templates and reports
- Customised tools to aid data quality activities
- Tailored support to streamline processes
- Access to ongoing support via email and telephone
EMPOWER
INNOVATE
INTEGRATE
Expression of Interest
To book a session, or if you just want to discuss how we can work together, please complete the form below.
