People with severe or complex mental illness (SCMI) are more likely to have physical illnesses like heart disease than people without SCMI and are more likely to have difficulties accessing health care. For example, we know that people with SCMI… Read more

People with severe mental illnesses (SMI) such as schizophrenia and bipolar affective disorders have a life expectancy 15-20 years lower than the general population, with two thirds of deaths from preventable chronic conditions such as cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease, cancers… Read more

The NHS has created a talking therapy service called Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) to help people with depression and anxiety. IAPT has recently been offered to people with long-term physical disorders that have depression and anxiety. We do… Read more

There is strong evidence that infections with certain viruses making it more likely for someone to develop psychotic disorders, such as schizophrenia. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen more people seeking treatment for psychosis symptoms in… Read more

Severe mental illness (SMI), which includes schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depression, affects about one in ten people. People with SMI die 10-20 years sooner than the general population, largely due to poorer physical health, in particular conditions that affect… Read more