I set up the zito trust following the publication of the independent inquiry into the care and treatment of Christopher Clunis, who suffered from paranoid schizophrenia and who killed my husband, Jonathan, in December 1992.

It's now nearly 10 years since Jonathan's death and, in that time, The Zito Trust has actively sought to highlight important concerns relating to severe mental illness and has consistently called for radical improvements to mental health services.

Despite the prevalence and seriousness of mental illness, historically it has not received the attention it deserves from government. In the last few years, however, we have seen mental health move up the health agenda and a great deal has been achieved in terms of raising awareness and in seeing real improvements in treatment and care.

We particularly welcome the publication on June 6 of the NICE guidance on the use of atypical anti-psychotics for the treatment of schizophrenia, for which The Zito Trust was consulted. The good news is that NICE has endorsed the newer atypicals, recommending they are considered as first-line treatment for people with first-onset schizophrenia.

Atypicals significantly improve the quality of life of patients. They are at least as effective as typical anti-psychotics in treating positive symptoms, and are more effective in treating the negative, depressive and cognitive deficits. They also have a significantly improved side-effect profile. The older typical treatments can have unacceptable side-effects, including difficulties with movement and uncontrollable shaking. Understandably the side-effects often make patients reluctant to take their medication and this can result in relapse and rehospitalisation.

Unlike previous guidance from NICE, this June's recommendations will have real impact - especially as health authorities and primary care trusts must implement the guidance within three months. The Zito Trust is delighted that NICE has acknowledged the body of evidence to support the wider use of atypicals and hopes that all those involved in the field of mental health will work to ensure that the guidance is fully implemented as quickly as possible.

In response to the NICE guidance we were very pleased to launch our new report, entitled Looking Forward to a World Class Mental Health Service, at the House of Commons on June 13.

While the NICE guidance provides an excellent opportunity for many people with schizophrenia whose quality of life is seriously impaired by their current treatments, actually implementing the guidance poses a number of challenges, as outlined in our report.

A survey of psychiatrists found that there were two main reasons why they don't prescribe atypicals more routinely: the first is the cost of treatment - even though it has been shown that the cost of purchasing atypicals is more than offset by hospitalisation costs, which are saved by the number of relapses suffered by patients.

Secondly there is a reluctance to switch from a typical to an atypical when schizophrenia is thought to be well controlled. However the new NICE guidance states that atypicals should also be considered for those people who, despite adequate symptom control, are experiencing unacceptable side-effects.

Prescription of anti-psychotics varies widely across the UK, indicating that "postcode prescribing" is still taking place. Medication is only part of the picture. A radical overhaul of the overstretched mental health services is also needed to ensure that the structures are in place to implement the NICE guidance, as well as to address the varied emotional and social needs of the thousands of individuals affected by schizophrenia in this country.

It is imperative that healthcare professionals themselves are equipped with the information and tools to be able to implement the guidance.

Despite the evidence demonstrating the benefits of atypicals, people in the UK are currently far less likely to receive them than those in countries such as Canada and Australia.

The recent Wanless Report commissioned by the Treasury, specifically cited mental health as one of the five disease areas that need to be improved to allow us to catch up with these countries, and to create a World Class Mental Health Service. Although we have a long way to go I am sure the new guidance will mean that we can ensure that people in the UK with severe mental illness can start to catch up with these countries in terms of access to the best treatments.

On October 30 and 31 this year, we will be holding our conference "Jonathan Zito Ten Years On" in London. It gives me hope that, on behalf of Jonathan and all the other victims over the previous decade, I will at least be able to say that reform is truly on the way.