ABSTRACT
This chapter explores a population approach to identifying the needs of people in the community with severe enduring mental illness (SEMI). It is based on a study carried out in general practice, which identified people with SEMI and the services they accessed. The chapter draws on work from the Primary Care Data Project in Wirral health district. The mental health strategy, which specified a community-based service, was in the process of being implemented. The core data set and criteria for identifying people with SEMI were drawn up and practice data analysts were asked to confirm the study details with their respective General Practitioners. The chapter examines the prevalence of SEMI in primary care and has recorded contacts with both primary and secondary care. The development of care registers for people with SEMI in primary care could help in this process, provided the registers were not solely based on diagnosis but also examined how the person was coping socially and economically.
