Sophie Gray, Senior Project Manager at Mind & Body, King’s Health Partners

King’s Health Partners and our partner Trusts signed up to the national Equally Well UK collaborative in September 2018; as members, we are incredibly focused on improving physical health of those with severe mental illness. Guy’s and St Thomas’s and King’s College Hospital became the first acute trusts in the UK to be part of the movement.

King’s Health Partners were delighted to host the first Equally Well UK network learning event of the year on Tuesday 14th May during Mental Health Awareness Week to share the findings of our world class research, education and patient care and inspire change in practice across the UK. Opening perspectives from Dr Sean Cross, Dr Fiona Gaughran and Dr Naomi Stent gave ideas of how this would be incorporated in other trusts.

The event focused on improving the physical health of people living with serious mental illness, specifically addressing areas that pose significant challenges amongst our local population including diabetes in psychosis and reducing harmful smoking of tobacco.

‘Unsurprisingly, smoking is one of the leading causes of physical health problems for people with serious mental illness.‘

This research provides crucial support to the implementation of the Vital 5 which is a key part of KHP’s vision to deliver Value Based Healthcare; outcomes that matter to people.

‘Hearing the presentations changed my perception about smoking cessation (support to reduce harmful smoking) amongst mental health patients for the better.’

With the national focus of Mental Health Awareness Week 2019 being Body Image, the event also heard an inspiring talk from Dr Brendon Stubbs based on evidence showing that physical activity is as effective as medication in reducing the risk of premature mortality and improving quality of life. Research also shows the crucial impact that increased movement can have on reducing depression.

The Mind & Body Programme Team would like to thank all speakers from a range of professions across King’s College London, King’s College Hospital, Guy’s and St Thomas’ and South London and Maudsley including for sharing the truly inspiring findings of their research, projects and clinical service delivery. We look forward to continuing to build and strengthen our partnerships with members of the Equally Well UK network in the coming months.

 

 

‘In three words, I would describe the event as being informative, inspiring and interactive’

‘…inspiring to see the movement and trail blazers and I’m excited to see how I can contribute’

If you were unable to attend the event and would like to receive more information about King’s Health Partners and the work of the Mind & Body Programme, you can visit us at our website or email us directly on mindandbody@slam.nhs.uk

The write-up of the afternoon session can be read here