Trust backs campaign to tackle physical health inequalities among people living with mental illness
Pledging our support to the Equally Well UK Charter
Our Trust has joined forces with more than 60 other organisations across the UK in a commitment to tackle the physical health inequalities faced by those living with a mental health condition.
As a provider of specialist mental health and learning disability services, we know that people living with mental illness and learning disability are at a higher risk of developing physical health problems.
We’ve teamed up with other health and care providers, commissioners, professional bodies, service user and carer organisations, and charities, to commit to making positive change by adding our name to the Equally Well UK Charter.
Equally Well UK is an initiative which seeks to promote and support collaborative action to improve physical health among people with a mental illness, and we’re extremely proud to pledge our support.
Joanna Forster Adams, Chief Operating Officer at Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation
Trust, said: “We are delighted to have the opportunity to work in partnership with other like-minded organisations across the country to tackle this important issue.
“As a Trust, it is our ambition to improve the health and lives of those we serve, and it’s vital that those with a mental health condition or learning disability aren’t at a disadvantage when it comes to their physical health, or accessing health care services.
“We look forward to sharing and hearing ideas as part of the Equally Well initiative, and are confident that we can bring about positive change together.”
As part of our commitment to reducing health inequalities for people with mental health and/or a learning disability, we have a number of specialist services and roles within the Trust, including our Healthy Living Service, Physical Health Monitoring and Improvement Team and Health Facilitation Team.
Our Healthy Living Service includes dietitians, physiotherapists, speech and language therapist, healthy living advisors and a health improvement specialist, who will continue to provide tailored assessments and interventions and support our service users to access the most up-to-date, relevant and high quality healthy lifestyle resources within the community.
Our Health Facilitation Team support a three-pronged approach to improving health care for people with a learning disability, and have worked to transcend different NHS organisations, GPs, voluntary and third sector, and adult social care services.
Their aims are to empower service users with a learning disability by providing health literature in a format they can understand and engage with (our easy on the i resources), to support carers to be more informed advocates for the people they care for, and to provide training, resources and consultation to health professionals who don’t have a background in learning disability care.
Some of their previous projects include:
- Restore2 mini project – a simple but effective way to determine deterioration in people who may not be able to communicate their ill health until it’s too late to effect a positive outcome.
- Shoebox audiometry – working with Leeds Teaching Hospital audiology department to implement NICE guidelines to support hearing tests that are adapted for people with a learning disability.
- COVID vaccination programme for people with a learning disability. Working with city wide partners in health and social care to ensure that the vaccination offer is appropriate for people with a learning disability. This includes providing information to support the patient to be fully informed about their choices about the vaccine.
- Move more – working with Public Health England and Active Leeds to support people to recover from post lockdown mobility/exercise issues. This project encouraged people to challenge themselves or their friends to increase the amount they move week by week, and includes those who use wheelchairs, to track arm movements.
Find out more about our Healthy Living Service and our easy on the i resources on our website.