Adult mental health care in England.

The policy background and current overall provision of mental health services for working age and older adults in England are described. Following the introduction of a new National Service Framework in 1999, an annual service mapping exercise was introduced. Data presented draw heavily on the mapping for 2003. This is supplemented by hospital admission statistics data from the new patient-based mental health minimum data set, introduced from April 2003, and a number of other corroborative sources. Data about services for older people are more restricted in scope and detail. Close attention is given to the extent to which data from these routine sources can be considered accurate.