Basic standards for management of patients with common mental illnesses in primary care
Agius, M.; Biocina, S.M.ć; Alptekin, K.; Rotstein, V.; Morselli, P.; Persaud, A.
Psychiatria Danubina 17(3-4): 205-220
2005
ISSN/ISBN: 0353-5053 PMID: 16392429 Document Number: 594257
At least 95% of mental health problems are dealt with entirely in primary care. The other 5% are referred to secondary care, but these will be dealt with jointly by primary care services and secondary care services. Mental Health problems provide a major burden to primary care services, the doctors who operate in those services- the General Practitioners-, and their staff Standards need to be set in order to clarify what an adequate primary care response should be to the provision of mental health care. We propose a set of standards which are evidence based and which are correlated with the recent WHO declaration on Mental Health in Europe.