A project to deliver integrated care for patients living with serious mental illness, assessing their complex physical health needs.
People living with significant and enduring mental illness have a life expectancy up to 25 years less than the general population, mostly due to physical health conditions such as cardiovascular disease. They are also less likely to receive appropriate screening and treatment from clinical services such as general practitioners. Living Well, Living Longer addresses these inequities by improving access to quality and appropriate physical health care. Training has been delivered to all community-based teams across SLHD Mental Health Service and mental health consumers now have improved access to nominated GPs, comprehensive multidisciplinary physical health clinics (including cardiology, psychiatry, endocrinology, nursing, exercise physiology, oral health, sleep medicine, podiatry and dietetics), healthy lifestyle programs and support to reduce smoking rates.
