SCHIZOPHRENIA - SHIFTING THE BALANCE OF CARE

Schizophrenia poses a major challenge to policy makers in health and s ocial care in England. As deinstitutionalisation has progressed, publi c concern about people with the condition has increased owing to a sma ll number of public incidents. This paper describes the overall balanc e of care or support for people with schizophrenia, particularly betwe en different settings and the services received. Using these data we a re able to provide a basic estimate of the current resource implicatio ns of schizophrenia care in England with respect to different public s ector agencies, the voluntary sector and service users and their famil ies. The targeting of public sector resources between different care s ettings is also considered. The discussion suggests that resources are still targeted at existing care facilities rather than on individuals , and examines the roles of individual care agencies and the relations hips between them. Four broad resource guidelines are suggested that c ould improve the effective use of resources for schizophrenia care.