20 August 2026
BSR has urged the Department of Health and Social Care to ensure the forthcoming Mental Health Strategy recognises the significant mental health burden experienced by people living with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases.
While we welcome the government’s focus on improving mental health services, in our response to the Call for Evidence informing the strategy, we raised concerns that it does not recognise the mental health needs of people living with long-term physical conditions, including those with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases.
People with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases can experience high rates of anxiety, depression and psychological distress as a result of chronic pain, fatigue, disability and the wider impact of their condition on daily life. The prevalence of depression in people with rheumatoid arthritis is 2 to 3 times higher than in those without the condition. Additionally, recent analysis using data from the National Early Inflammatory Autoimmune Diseases Audit (NEIAA) found that around half of people with inflammatory arthritis experienced significant psychological distress, with higher levels of distress associated with poorer quality of life, greater disability and worse treatment outcomes. Evidence also shows that people with physical health conditions experience more than double the rate of common mental health conditions compared with those without (32.9% compared with 12.6%).
In our response, we highlighted the need for the Mental Health Strategy to better reflect the well-established relationship between physical and mental health and the experiences of people living with long-term conditions. We called for the Mental Health Strategy to:
- Explicitly recognise the interaction between physical and mental health
- Support integrated care models that embed psychological support within long-term condition pathways
- Make greater use of patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) to identify psychological burden, guide referrals, support service planning and enable earlier intervention
Alongside our submission, we engaged with patient organisations and wider stakeholders to share key messages and support alignment across the sector. As a result, several of the themes we highlighted, including the need to recognise the mental health impact of long-term physical conditions, were raised directly with the government team leading development of the strategy.
We will continue to raise awareness of the mental health burden associated with long-term physical conditions and advocate for policies that better reflect people’s lived experience.