Closing the gap between physical and mental health training

Mental illness and physical ill health are inextricably linked. Separating the two has led to significant health inequalities and barriers to health care for some of our most vulnerable patients. In March this year, the King's Fund built on findings from the Independent Mental Health Taskforce to the NHS in England's Five Year Forward View for Mental Health 1 by publishing Bringing Together Physical and Mental Health: A New Frontier for Integrated Care. 2 Both documents emphasise the need to integrate physical, mental, and social care. The latter cites the factors that have led us to this point: '... institutional and cultural barriers, separate payment systems for physical and mental health care, and the trend for increasing sub-specialisation in professional education.'