People with severe and enduring mental illness are at greater risk of poor physical health and reduced life expectancy compared to the general population.
This edition of Health matters sets out the scale of the problem and presents actions that local areas can take to reduce health inequalities, improve physical health and life chances of people living with mental illness.
Although the focus is on adults with more severe and enduring mental illness, many of the actions will be of benefit to all people experiencing mental illness.
Mental health problems can affect anyone and have a significant effect on the lives of individuals, their families, communities and wider society. Together with substance misuse, mental illness accounts for 21.3% of the total morbidity burden in England.