MENTALLY ill people will be helped to find and keep jobs in a flagship NHS drive.

Health chiefs say 170,000 with severe difficulties will get the tailored support and unlimited back-up in the next five years.

The life-changing move is part of a 100-page long-term plan to be unveiled by Theresa May tomorrow.

This will detail NHS priorities over the next decade and how an extra £20billion-a-year funding will be spent.

Last night the PM said the measures will relieve pressure on the service and “transform care with world-class treatments” that support patients from cradle to old age.

Improvement targets include maternity care, support for the elderly and the war on cancer.

The plan also seeks to cut NHS cash wastage, with £700million in back office savings.

Another aim is to recruit tens of thousands more staff, including doctors and nurses.

A modernisation of the NHS, with new technologies, is intended to give patients online GP access.

They can then manage appointments and prescriptions or view records. Mrs May said the “historic step offers a vision for the NHS over the next ten years”.

She added that it focuses on “ensuring every pound is spent in a way that will most benefit patients”.

Her action on mental health care fulfils a promise she made.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: “No one with a mental illness should be held back from achieving their potential in the workplace.”