Sheila Hardy and Jorg Huber report on the success of a course to improve primary care practitioners’ understanding of the needs of this client group

Practice nurses presently have little contact with people who have serious mental illness (SMI) but are skilled in providing care for individuals with long-term physical conditions. Patients with SMI have poorer physical health and die younger than the general population, and may not be in touch with secondary care services. Training practice nurses in SMI increases screening opportunities and could provide patients with a named contact in primary care. The aim of the project described here was to provide practice nurses with effective training about SMI. Following a short training course, nurses’ perceived knowledge and skills relating to physical health in SMI improved.