To raise awareness of the connection between mental and physical health and the ways more joined-up care can be provided to patients,  King’s Health Partners  – a pioneering collaboration between King’s College London and Guy’s and St Thomas’, King’s College Hospital and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trusts – has launched a new animation.

The video raises awareness of the significant number of people who have both a mental and physical illness:

• 30% of people with long term physical health conditions, such as diabetes, arthritis or heart problems, also have a mental health condition, such as depression or anxiety.
• Nearly half of all people with diagnosed mental illness also have at least one, and often more, long term physical conditions.
• The average life expectancy for someone with a long-term mental health illness or learning disability is 15- 20 years shorter than for someone without.

Evidence shows that by joining up physical and mental healthcare, people can manage their different conditions, improve their health outcomes, and even prevent unnecessary health problems by identifying risk early.

King’s College London has provided much of the  evidence base  for this work through  IMPARTS  (Integrating Mental & Physical healthcare: Research, Training & Services) and  research  about physical health in severe mental illness. This includes collecting information on a range of psychological, physical, and behavioural outcomes, providing valuable answers to research questions.

In this video, Fiona Squire describes how mind and body care helped her recover mentally and physically, after her limb reconstruction.