New guidance to help doctors and medical professionals refer patients with suspected bipolar disorder has been circulated by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).

The move comes after a report from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) was published last year, which revealed that one in three people that have mental health issues are not given enough support and are unware of the help available to them.

The information is expected to help more adults that have a “severe mental illness”, enabling them to receive the highest possible standard of care and medical support when needed.

According to the publication, if a patient attends a consultation with their GP and has symptoms of depression, along with demonstrations of mood or noticeable shifts in behaviour for four days in a row or longer, they should then be referred to a specialist for a mental health assessment.

Bipolar disorder can affect an individual for their entire lifetime, and the condition is generally diagnosed after constant, noticeable changes in their actions, as well as periods of depression.

Typically, a person can begin to experience the symptoms associated with the condition between the ages of 15 and 19.

However, affected individuals are only likely to receive professional mental health advice and support long after they begin to cope with symptoms.

In fact, recent reports have indicated that patients can actually wait for approximately six years before they get a correct diagnosis.

NICE’s guidelines also emphasise the fact that patients should be given specifically-developed psychological therapies and be provided with a physical health assessment at least once every year.