Monday, June 2, 2014

RETHINK calls for urgent action to prevent avoidable deaths


Originally posted on lambeth & Southwark wellbeing:

The national charity Rethink Mental Illness has welcomed a new Oxford University report which calls for urgent action to address physical health problems of people with mental illness.

It’s a scandal that people with mental illness are at risk of dying 20 years younger than average, because of preventable physical health problems. Our Lethal Discrimination report showed that more than 30,000 people with mental illness are dying needlessly every year – that’s more than one avoidable death every 20 minutes (Mark Winstanley, CEO).

Dr John Williams, Head of Neuroscience and Mental Health at the Wellcome Trust, said:‘People with mental health problems are among the most vulnerable in society. This work emphasises how crucial it is that they have access to appropriate healthcare and advice, which is not always the case. We now have strong evidence that mental illness is just as threatening to life expectancy as other public…

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