Priority Area 5: Improving the physical health of people living with mental illness and reducing early mortality
The Fifth Plan states the following will be different for consumers and carers:
- • Consumers’ physical healthcare needs will be discussed and addressed.
- • There will be better coordination of services at the local level that will support consumers and carers to address their physical health needs and improve their quality of life.
The coordination of physical and mental health care continues to be limited.
Less than one-third (30% in 2020 and 29% in 2019) of respondents reported they or the person they care for ‘usually’ or ‘always’ experienced their mental health care provider discussing their physical health, while around a quarter of respondents (23% in 2020 and 25% in 2019) reported that this ‘rarely’ occurred (Figure PA5).
Less than half of all respondents (42% in 2020 and 38% in 2019) were aware of any arrangements between services to ensure both mental and physical health needs were addressed for consumers. Of the carers who opted to provide additional information in this priority area, 20% indicated that there was little or no coordination or integration of physical and mental health care services in their area.
Figure PA5: Frequency of experiencing mental health care providers discussing physical health in the past 12 months, 2019 and 2020