References
Providing holistic care to prevent hospital admission
Abstract
Diabetes patients are twice as likely to experience depression as the general public. Diabetes can impact on mental health and subsequently impact a practitioner’s ability to manage diabetes. This article outlines a case study of a nurse consultant and a diabetic nurse specialist. Both worked with a person who has diabetes in two different NHS Trusts who collaborated to provide care and support that is seamless at the point of delivery. Such collaboration can reduce attendance at Accident and Emergency departments and acute hospital admissions, and improves the quality of care that an individual receives.
Although mental and physical health problems are treated separately, mind and body are, in fact, inextricably linked. People with mental health problems are more likely to have physical health problems than the general population (Public Health England (PHE), 2018). People with what is referred to as ‘severe mental illness’ (SMI) – those with psychological problems, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder that severely impair their functional ability – are not only more likely to have physical health problems, but also experience greater difficulty in managing these problems (PHE, 2018). Figure 1 outlines how people with mental health issues are at increased risk of physical illness.
Nurses trained to care for people with mental health problems may struggle to recognise and meet physical health needs, and some NHS Trusts providing mental health services have appointed specialist and consultant nurses to work with staff to improve physical health in mental health settings (Department of Health (DH), 2016; Nazarko, 2017).
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