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Charity reminds
GPs they can earn £8,000 by checking the physical health of
people with mental health problems
March
28, 2006
Charity
workers have launched a drive to remind GPs that they can earn up
to £8,000 extra per year by providing health checks to people
with mental health problems.
The workers are sending GPs in Norwich information leaflets which
detail how new GP contract rewards doctors financially if they provide
a certain number of health checks per year to people with mental
health problems.
It is part of the charity Rethink's campaign in Norwich to challenge
the stigma associated with mental ill health and for there to be
more checks on the physical health of people with mental health
problems.
According to the charity, the average GP spends 30% of consultation
time with patients diagnosed with a mental illness.
The charity also said that people with severe mental illness die
10 years younger than the rest of the population. It said this was
not because of suicide or self harm, but because of physical health
problems.
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