NHS Improvement pledge to Equally Well UK:

NHS Improvement is pleased to be working with Equally Well UK over the coming year, we will support Equally well by continuing to link and share our Closing the Gap national improvementwork.  Equally Well UK will be introduced to our current cohort of Trusts involved within our Closing the Gap work as a tool to ensure sustainability and spread of outcomes from this work.  Equally Well UK will provide a mechanism to support transformation within mental health services to address and improve the physical health of people with mental health conditions.  We will continue to improve access to good physical healthcare and interventions utilising the variety of knowledge and expertise within Equally well UK.

Pledged September 2018

Glenn Westrop, Mental Health AHP Clinical Fellow said: “Improving the physical health of people with severe mental illness requires effort and belief from staff that peoples physical health can improve.  We need to enable, advocate and work with patients (people)  focussing on providing the right care, support and skills for people to live well and have meaningful lives.  Supporting an individual’s mental health and physical health requires an holistic approach;  many people have a part to play and only together can we address the multifaceted issues faced by individuals. Equally Well UK provides the vehicle to support this, working across boundaries which disrupt the ability to improve people’s physical health whilst avoiding wherever possible development of poor physical health and premature mortality in people with severe mental illnesses.”