Quality standard

This quality standard covers recognising, assessing and managing bipolar disorder in adults (aged 18 and over) in primary and secondary care. It describes high-quality care in priority areas for improvement.

It does not cover bipolar disorder in children and young people, which is included in NICE’s quality standard on bipolar disorder, psychosis and schizophrenia in children and young people.

In February 2016, statement 6 on valproate was removed and updated by a new statement in NICE’s quality standard on antenatal and postnatal mental health.

How to use NICE quality standards and how we develop them

Quality standards help you improve the quality of care you provide or commission. They apply in England and Wales (see the UK government website and Welsh government website). Decisions on how they apply in Scotland and Northern Ireland are made by ministers in the Scottish government and Northern Ireland Executive.

Find out how to use quality standards and how we develop them. We check our quality standards every August to make sure they are up to date.