The aim with this project was to describe how nursing staff working in the home care environment perceive their level of knowledge regarding mental ill health and if this level of knowledge is sufficient / insufficient in their dealings with mentally ill patients. The study is empirical and a qualitative method has been used. Questionaires have been used and interviews have been carried out with nurses working in the home care system and data has also been collected from previous research in this area. Result The result show that home care nurses consider that they have inadequate knowledge of treating patients with mental ill health and they seek more training, guidance and collaboration with psychiatric nurses. Conclusion Increased knowledge of mental health care and continuous guidance would make home care nurses more confident in their dealings with patients suffering from mental ill health. It would also lead to patients feeling greater security knowing that the nurses treating them possess adequate knowledge in caring for the mentally ill.