Serious mental illness
Do you, or does someone you care for, have a serious mental illness?
For example:
- schizophrenia
- bipolar disorder
- psychotic disorder
- severe depression
Evidence shows that people who have these conditions are at a higher risk of developing physical health issues compared to everyone else. This includes weight gain, diabetes, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure. If these issues are not managed, they can lead to heart, lung, and liver disease.
Annual physical health check
So, it is important to identify any potential problems, so they can be addressed and people affected can live as healthy a life as possible.
Did you know you can ask for an annual physical health check with your GP practice?
The key idea is to screen for any risk factors and then intervene.
Your GP practice team will screen for:
- blood pressure
- height & weight
- blood sugar
- blood cholesterol
- smoking consumption
- alcohol consumption
These tests and information can help to identify the potential risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and respiratory or liver disorders.
Where necessary, the GP practice team can then intervene, for example, by offering advice or making a referral to other services.
You will be able to speak to your doctor about any physical health issues or concerns you may have.
You can then discuss and agree on a physical health plan together.
Find out more about the physical health checks here:
This video is also available in Romanian, Polish and Punjabi