‘GPs are ignoring dual diagnosis’

People who have a physical impairment and a mental health problem
are often overlooked by policy makers and commissioners of
services, new findings suggest.

Two-thirds of the 83 people surveyed had trouble obtaining mental
health services because of their physical impairments – and vice
versa – according to research by the Joseph Rowntree
Foundation.

Some of the respondents felt that having a mental health diagnosis
meant that GPs and other health professionals did not take their
physical symptoms seriously.

A third rated their GP’s response to their physical impairment
needs as poor, and almost half said the same of their GP’s
attitudes towards their mental health problems.

– Report from www.jrf.org.uk