King's College London

People with severe mental illness die approximately 20 years earlier than the general population. The most common cause of death being cardiovascular diseases, linked to the increased prevalence of type 2 diabetes. People with severe mental illness and type 2 diabetes may take anti-psychotic drugs that cause obesity and make it difficult to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Type 2 diabetes requires annual reviews of nine diabetes care processes and for people to adopt multiple self-care tasks to prevent diabetes complications, care processes include: 3-6 monthly blood glucose measurement (HbA1c) with appropriate targets; blood pressure measurement with targets; annual blood cholesterol measurement; kidney function testing with urinary albumin; kidney function testing with serum creatinine; weight check; smoking status; diabetes annual eye screening; and annual foot examination.

National statistics indicate people with severe mental illness and type 2 diabetes are less likely to take up all nine diabetes care processes and to be prescribed diabetes medications and have worse glycaemic control as a result. Therefore, getting people with severe mental illness and type 2 diabetes to access diabetes care they are entitled to is a priority. This study aims to develop new ways of working to ensure that diabetes services are provided in a way that better supports people with severe mental illness and type 2 diabetes.