PIF member National Voices has launched a campaign calling for compassionate conversations at all points of contact between healthcare professionals and people living with long-term conditions.

#AskHowIAm asks every healthcare provider to 'properly, meaningfully' ask people how they are feeling and calls for services changes to enable these vital conversations to happen.

The campaign launch coincided with the release of a joint report with the Centre for Mental Health – Ask How I Am: Supporting emotional health among people living with long-term conditions.

The report was supported by a range of long-term condition charities.

Ask How I Am report

The report says people who live with long-term physical conditions are twice as likely to have poor mental health as those who do not. 

To explore the reasons behind this, the research team spoke with people living with long-term conditions, their family members and the healthcare professionals who work with them.

Ask How I Am shows the impact long-term conditions can have on people, their relationships and jobs.

It also explores what helps, what support is already available and what needs to change to better emotionally support people living with long-term physical ill-health. 

While, in many places, clinicians are supporting people with their mental health emotional wellbeing is not always brought up.

The report includes 10 recommendations for system leaders to make these conversations possible everywhere. Click here to view a summary of the recommendations.

National Voices has also created some top tips for practitioners to enable compassionate conversations and information for people with long-term conditions.

The full report can be downloaded here.

#AskHowIAm campaign

The #AskHowIAm campaign calls for compassionate conversations at all points of contact between healthcare professionals and people living with long-term conditions. 

National Voices is asking every healthcare provider – nurses, doctors, and allied healthcare professionals – to properly, meaningfully ask people how they are feeling.

It is also asking system leaders to:

  • Make the necessary service changes to enable vital conversations
  • Equip healthcare professionals with the skills and knowledge they need to effectively support people living with long-term conditions

A report and campaign launch video can be viewed here.