Look after your Physical Health Awareness Campaign
15 Nov 2007

From Mind in Action Autumn 2007.

It is vital for people taking anti-psychotic drugs (known as neuroleptics) to have physical health checks. This is because there is a link between taking these drugs and some physical health problems related to metabolic side effects i.e. effects on the body’s metabolism. Some commonly prescribed anti-psychotics are chlorpromazine, olanzapine, haloperidol and risperidone.

The prescribing observatory for Mental Health (POMH – UK) is a national quality improvement programme open to all specialist mental health services. The project is sited within the Royal College of Psychiatrists and aims to help mental health services monitor and maintain or improve the quality of their mental health prescribing practice.

The POMH has produced a card entitled ‘Look after your Physical Health’ specifically designed for service users who take anti-psychotics.

The purpose of the card is to:
• Help service users to monitor their physical health by means of charting weight, blood pressure readings, blood tests
• Record results of such tests.
• Remind service users when their next tests are due.

The card also serves as a prompt to service providers to ensure that people taking anti-psychotics are regularly booked in for these tests.

If you would like a free copy of this card for yourself please email POMH at pomh-uk@cru.rcpsych.ac.uk or phone 020 7977 6641 or write to your Primary Care Trust or Mental Health Team and ask them to provide one.

Two relation publications are available on National Mind’s website at: www.mind.org.uk:
Making Sense of Antipsychotics
Mind guide to Physical Activity