Whole-person care: From rhetoric to reality (achieving parity between mental and physical health)
Royal College of Psychiatrists, (2013, March). London: Author.
There is an ambition for the NHS to put mental health on a par with physical health. However, the concept of parity in this context is not always well understood. In this report, an expert working group defines ‘parity of esteem’ in detail, and examines why parity between mental and physical health does not currently exist and how it might be achieved in practice.
It outlines Key Recommendations on pp. 9-14:
1. Leadership for parity
2. Policy changes to promote parity
3. Parity of professional and public respect: tackling stigma and discrimination
4. Parity of outcomes: preventing premature mortality
5. Parity of care and treatment
6. Parity and integrated care: addressing co- and multi-morbidity of mental and physical health conditions
7. A parity approach to public health
8. Parity across the life course
9. Parity and funding
10. Parity and research
To read the full report, click here.