Employability and Mental Health

• Michael Perera – Projects Manager , Mental Health

• Lynn Holmes ,Employment Advisor, Job Centre Plus/NHS Highland

• Fiona Maclachlan, Occupational Therapist, Inverness CMHT

Employability and Mental Health

• The IPS Model in Highland

• Review of local pilot in partnership with Department of Work and Pensions

• Suggested way forward

1 in 6 people with a serious mental health condition have a job. 8 in 10 want 1.

• Why do people with mental health conditions struggle to be in employment?

3 Factors

A culture of low

expectations Fear

Failure to do what we know

works

What is IPS?

• Competitive employment is the primary goal• No eligibility criteria• Job search based on individual preferences• Job search rapid, within one month• Employment specialists co-located with

clinical team• Support time-unlimited and individualised• Benefits advice supports transition to work• Job development is undertaken with local

employers

So, how do you successfully help people with mental health problems

into work?• Individual Placement Support

• 12 month pilot in NHS Highland

• Partnership with DWP – Job Centre Plus

• Employment Advisor located within mental health services 3 days per week

• Worked along side Community Mental health team and Rehabilitation Services

• Ambitious for clients who wanted to work

What happened?

• 26 clients referred• Initial confusion from referrers over role of

service (e.g. 2 clients already in work)• 4 realised during process that they were not

quite ready for work • 4 decided at initial interview IPS was not right

approach for them• 15 received support• 10 now in work• 3 in volunteering• 2 in college

Lessons

• For IPS to work well it must be undertaken to a level of high fidelity

• Not all 8 principles are as easy to implement– Those achieved more easily:

• Personalised i.e. based on user preference• Rapid action plan, finance/benefits advice• Achieves open employment

– Less often fully in evidence:• Fully integrated with health care, no exclusion criteria• Employer engagement job development• Planned follow-on support

Success?

• We believe so. The success rate of clients referred gaining employment mirrors that in other areas where IPS is the adopted approach (66%)

• This is double the success rate of traditional approaches.

• It is intensive but has proven to be worth it

Mental Health Strategy

• Evidence Based supported Employment

• Adherence to 7/8 Core Principals

“If IPS is not delivered to a proven model, effectiveness will be reduced”

Work Foundation Centre for Mental Heath

What next?

• Employment Specialist is continuing in NHSH Rehabilitation Service part time in a joint funded position

• We recommend IPS be the model of choice • We recommend that the totality of resource utilised by all

agencies to support employability be identified across The Highland Council area

• A mapping of who does what be undertaken to identify duplications/ overlap

• Draft an employability pathway understandable to all• Adjust working practices/ service level agreements/ to

redesign existing resources focusing on implementing IPS

Questions?