Physical health checks for severe mental illness

This catalogue provides a single point of entry to primary care professionals to support the delivery of the annual physical health checks for people with severe mental illness (SMI), helping patients stay physically and mentally well. 

We recommend the free 15-minute e-learning - physical health checks for severe mental illness module. This module is a valuable way of accessing training on the vital importance of delivering a specific physical health check for people with SMI every year. It also includes information on why people with SMI are at risk of dying prematurely and how we can prevent this, good practice tools, and a case study.

SMI refers to people diagnosed with psychological problems that are often so debilitating that their ability to engage in functional and occupational activities is severely impaired. Schizophrenia, bipolar affective disorder and other psychoses are referred to as SMI. 

People with an SMI are at risk of dying prematurely, in some cases 20 years earlier than the general population. Many of these deaths are preventable if conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes and cardiovascular problems are identified and treated early through psychical health checks. 

Improving access to physical health checks for people with serious mental illness (SMI) is one of the key ambitions of the NHS Long Term Plan, with the aim of at least 390,000 people with SMI receiving physical health checks by 2023/24. 

We are also curating a suite of further training resources and helpful guides that you will find in the catalogue below. Over time these will be categorised into sub-folders to make it easier to identify the best resource for your training and development needs.