The Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health today congratulates the National Health Service on the eve of its sixtieth anniversary.
In a message to every primary care trust in England, the Sainsbury Centre called for a major new focus on supporting people with mental health problems to get and keep employment.
Sainsbury Centre chief executive Angela Greatley said: "The NHS has transformed mental health services in England over the past 20 years. It now offers community services to many thousands of people with severe and enduring mental illnesses where previously it only offered long-stay institutions. And it is beginning to provide psychological therapies to those with depression and anxiety.
"The next big step for the NHS is to support people with mental health problems to get on with their lives as they choose and to achieve their potential. Central to this is the creation of world-class employment support. Currently too many people with mental health problems who are willing and able to work are excluded from the labour market.
"We now know how to support people with mental health problems to get and keep jobs. The challenge for the NHS is to work with local partners to put the evidence into practice and to enable people with mental health problems to build better lives for themselves and their families."