Work and pensions secretary James Purnell today announced a
review into how more people with mental health problems can be
supported into work.
In a speech to the RSA, he said it was "shameful" that the
employment rate for people with mental health problems was as low
as 10%, compared to 73% for the general population, despite the
vast majority of mentally-ill people wanting to work.
However, he said there were solutions, such as the use of
the "individual placement and support" model by South West London
and St George's Mental Health Trust, which has successfully got
many people with severe conditions into employment.
Rachel Perkins to head review
The review will be headed by
Dr Rachel Perkins, director of quality
assurance and user/carer experience at the trust, who has led on
this work.
Purnell added: "She will report by the pre-budget report [due in
November], so we can move quickly to ensure the system and the
money we spend on it capitalises on the much better treatment that
is now available."
Individual placement and support involves integrating employment
with care services and placing people in jobs and providing them
with ongoing support in the workplace, rather than training them to
get jobs.
Sainsbury Centre has championed model
The Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health, which has championed the
model, welcomed today's announcement and praised the appointment of
Perkins, saying her trust "leads the way in offering people with
severe and enduring mental health problems the chance to achieve
their ambitions".
The charity's employment programme director, Bob Grove, said:
"There is no doubt that benefits, employment and social care
services need to work together more effectively. Too many people's
prospects are limited by services that fail to offer the right
support at the right time to help them to make their own lives
better."
Sainsbury Centre chief executive Angela Greatley will
be speaking at a Community Care conference
- New Approaches to Mental Health Care: Best practice in
supporting recovery on June 18.
Related articles
Sainsbury Centre pushes individual placement and
support
Learning disabilities: Route into employment
spelt out
Welfare reform plans to remove benefits from
alcoholics
More information
Sainsbury Centre guide to individual placement and support