Cost of schizophrenia in England

The aim of this study was to provide up-to-date, prevalence based estimate of all costs associated with schizophrenia for England. Separate cost estimates were made for people living in private households, institutions, prisons and for those who are homeless. The estimated total societal cost of schizophrenia was £6.7 billion in 2004/05. The direct cost of treatment and care that falls on the public purse was about £2 billion; the burden of indirect costs to the society was about £4.7 billion. Indirect costs include cost of informal care and private expenditures borne by families of £615 million, the cost of lost productivity due to unemployment, absence from work and premature mortality of patients of £3.4 billion, the cost of lost productivity of carers of £32 million, an estimated cost to the criminal justice system of about £1million and an estimated cost of social security payments and its administration of about £584 million.