Key areas for action

National ownership
Develop advocacy groups
Address stigma
Increase funding
Build care capacity
Issues
Action plan
Resources
Questions to ask
Measures of success
Footnotes
Build community services
Professional training
More treatment options
Engage carers & patients
Better data
Measures of success
Mental health - summary of key points

Build care capacity > issues

Only one quarter of all cases of mental disorders reach professional health care services, suggesting a considerable degree of unmet need across Europe.¹

• De-institutionalisation is to be encouraged. However too often, the closure of psychiatric institutions has not been accompanied by sufficient investment in community care.
• As a result, mortality rates amongst people with schizophrenia increased in some countries following de-institutionalisation.²
• Gaps in service availability are rife in most European countries, particularly in Central and Eastern Europe.
• The greatest shortage in all countries appears to be in services that bridge across social care and healthcare.
• Not only do we need more physicians, we also need more well-trained mental health nurses, psychologists, and social workers in the community to ensure high-quality and coordinated care.
• Some institutional facilities are still necessary to treat acute episodes of severe mental illness.