The Severe Mental Illness Mortality Gap programme is changing.
More than 100,000 of Londoners are living with a severe mental illness, such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Beyond living with these conditions, the stark reality revealed by current statistics is that these individuals die 15–20 years earlier than people without these illnesses.
Healthy London Partnership and London’s Clinical Networks have worked together to provide a programme of tailored support to London’s NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups, Mental Health providers and Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships. The programme has aimed to increase the number of annual health checks for people with severe mental illness, in line with the commitments made by the NHS in the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health.
The work to close the mortality gap for Londoners living with severe mental illness is changing. UCL Partners have committed to take on the coordination of the hosting arrangements for the mortality gap programme. This is an excellent fit with their strengths and links well to current programmes of work within UCL.
UCL Partners will work in partnership with the Health Innovation Network, Imperial College Health Partners and Kings Health Partners and will offer and expansive and integrated coverage of the healthcare systems and academic organisations across the London geography, increasing the influence and potential impact of the London Mental Health Trust’s Physical Health Leads Network, and drawing in expertise in healthcare innovation, health research, policy making and clinical implementation.
The established physical health leads network will also be supported by these organisations and will continue to update and develop the stolen years toolkit, a quality improvement tool produced by the Severe Mental Illness Mortality Gap collaborative.
For more information about the Severe Mental Illness Mortality Gap programme, visit our online resources
To find out more about UCL Partners and their work, visit uclpartners.com