In Poland the issues and concerns relevant to mental health in the workplace have not been adequately addressed to meet the needs of the population. Current methodology and tools are inadequate and information is insufficient. The available data is fragmentary, and there has been no follow-up or in-depth analysis.

The core of the problem lies in the government and in social attitudes towards people with mental health disorders. Though change is coming gradually, most facilities and services for the mentally ill are still located in large psychiatric hospitals with little connection to the local community. To promote mental health care reforms in Poland, it is necessary to develop integrated prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation programmes at the level of small administrative units and to delegate responsibility for their implementation to local authorities. This should lead to an increase in financial support and to more effective collaboration between the various stakeholders in mental health protection, including employers.

Mental health protection is one of the main objectives of reforms. It should include:

* Providing people with mental health disorders with the resources to live in the community. This means more housing (ranging from independent to sheltered housing) and capability-matched working conditions; steps should also be taken to improve the quality of life of the chronically mentally ill;

* Mental health promotion should involve the State, local communities, educational institutions, and employers in providing for the psychological and social needs of the individual;

* Services should, first and foremost, target people at risk of mental health disorders or health-compromising stress reactions; they should include early diagnosis and intervention. Services should be provided mainly by the primary care system, but there should also be specialised facilities for psychological counselling and crisis intervention, which would offer help in coping with difficult life situations and in developing problem-solving skills.

Because of the specific situation of the mentally ill in Poland and the current status of programmes promoting change in the field of mental health protection, the Mental health in the workplace project should address the following:

* Legislative initiatives obliging employers to provide working conditions which promote mental health development and maintenance;

A statutory guarantee of the right to employment for persons disabled by mental health disorders, including opportunities in sheltered workshops;

* Development of community psychiatric care and prevention programmes involving appropriate local institutions (including employers' organisations) in measures on behalf of mental health protection and delivery of care to the mentally ill;

* Research on the consequences of the socio-economic transformation in Poland. These have included: privatisation of enterprises and the rise of unemployment; changes in the agricultural sector which will require about a million people to seek new types of employment; the post communist syn-