Improving physical health

It is a sad fact that people with mental health needs have a life expectancy that is around 20 years shorter than the average. For several years we have focused on improving the physical health of people with mental health, learning disability and neurodiversity needs - but we know that we have further work to do.

We also know that people who live with long-term physical health conditions are much more likely than the general population to experience mental ill health.

There are significant health and cost benefits in ensuring that their psychological needs are also addressed.

We aim to have an integrated, digital approach to monitoring the physical health of people in our care in order to improve their physical health outcomes, with a particular focus on those people who are neurodiverse.

Our ambition is to reduce the risks of early death and to contribute to better overall physical health for the people we support. We want people, and their families and carers, to feel that their physical and mental health needs are being met in a more holistic way and that they are being cared for with compassion by well-trained professionals.

We will adopt clinical and digital approaches to monitor the physical health of people in our care, working closely with our partners, for example GPs. We will seek to improve their overall wellbeing and to identify any new concerns promptly. Our goal is to empower and enable people to access regular health monitoring and health screening programmes and to promote early intervention and treatment. We will also ensure that everyone in our care has an annual review of their physical health needs.

We believe that this approach will have a pronounced impact on reducing the health inequality that is too often experienced by people with mental health, learning disability and neurodiversity needs. We will work closely with our partner organisations in Devon to better understand the links between physical and mental ill health and work towards providing even more joined-up care in the setting that best suits the individual.