The Psychological Professions Network Working with Health Education North West to promote excellence in psychological health and wellbeing Making Parity of Esteem a Reality Clare Baguley - Programme Manager PPN North West, HENW Claire Maguire - Clinical & Professional Lead, Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust Zubeida Ali - Professional Lead for Counselling, Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust

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What Does Parity of Esteem Mean? Valuing Mental Health Equally with Physical Health “My family and I have access to services which enable us to maintain both our mental and physical wellbeing.” “If I become unwell I use services which assess and treat mental health disorders or conditions on a par with physical health illnesses.”

Why Is It Important? Among people under 65, nearly half of all ill health is mental illness Yet, only a quarter of all those with mental illness such as depression are in treatment We tend to view physical and mental health treatment in separate silos in health services People with poor physical health are at higher risk of experiencing mental health problems…and people with poor mental health are more likely to have poor physical health

A Call To: Tackle mental health conditions with the same energy and priority as we have physical illnesses. Equity of funding, commissioning and training End to stigma and prejudice within the NHS which stops people with serious mental health problems getting treated with the same vigour as if they had a physical illness such as diabetes. If you fall down and break your hip, an ambulance will be with you in eight minutes to give emergency care at the scene before taking you to A&E. If, however, you suffer an acute psychotic episode in the street, you are just as likely to be attended by a police car and taken to a cell.

Parity of Attention Commissioners, Service Providers and System Leaders need to devote the same time, energy and resources to improving mental health as they do to physical health

Parity of Value Good mental health and the treatment of mental illness is valued in and of itself, as well as for the contribution that it makes to people’s physical health, the economy or any other area

Parity of Expectations Patients, Professionals and Organisations have the same high standards and expectations of mental healthcare as for physical healthcare

Parity of Funding Mental health receives less than half the level of funding that might be expected, given the relative morbidity of mental illness Closing this gap is an essential prerequisite of parity.

Parity of Resources Relates to the full range of time and effort that NHS organisations - from the Department of Health and NHS England downwards - devote to mental health and access to NICE recommended treatments, relative to other areas of healthcare.

Parity of Expectations Individuals at all levels of the system should have the same expectations of mental health services as they would for physical health services. The government and NHS England should ensure that they are able to hold both commissioners and providers of mental health services to the same standards and with the same rigour as they apply in physical healthcare.

What Can We Do? Information - Commissioners need good information to improve the system - Use of routine outcome data Commissioning Development – we need to raise the level of skills and capabilities to secure services that deliver the parity of esteem agenda.

Integrate mental health support with primary care and chronic disease management programmes Improve the provision of liaison psychiatry and psychological services in acute hospitals Train all health professionals in core mental health knowledge and skills Remove barriers to integration, for example, through redesign of payment mechanisms. What Can We Do?

HEE Mandate – Chapter 4 - Mental Health Headlines Dementia awareness and skills Implementation of access and waiting time standards A&E and liaison psychiatry Improving Access to Psychological Therapies Learning disability Perinatal Mental Health, Children and Young People’s Services and Eating Disorders Services Criminal justice liaison and diversion services Exposure of doctors in training and GPs with specialist interest in mental health

Discussion Prompts Funding models – how do we invest? Service models – which care pathways need to be developed? Education Provision – how do we add to the curriculum, educate and share best practice? Processes – what processes do we need to get there?