Despite the 75% employment rate in the general population, if you are adult with a disability there is less than 5 in 10 chance that you are in employment. Changing this to give everybody equal access to work requires a shift of mind-set from those working across the NHS. All health care clinicians can do more to support the employment aspirations of every person they met.
This is why I am working with Public Health England to enable occupational therapists and others to become Health and Work Champions who train healthcare clinicians to 'ask the work question' as part of everyday consultations. The training that Champions deliver helps clinicians ask soon enough, ask in enough depth and revisit the subject of work. We have piloted this approach with 60 occupational therapists who have trained in excess of 500 NHS staff.
And it works. The training significantly improves clinicians’ knowledge and confidence to talk about employment.
Occupational therapist, George Edgley and psychologist Katie Kay are Health and Work Champions in Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust. Not only are they passionate about supporting people with mental health problems into employment, they use the local Health and Wellbeing College where George is Project Lead to create employment opportunities.
And it works. Lucy and Amy are both former users of mental health in patient and community services. They joined the volunteering/work pathway at the Health and Wellbeing College, became volunteers and then applied for paid Peer Trainer posts within the College. They are now discharged from health services, having successfully moved from ‘patient’ to employee.
Lucy says “I have struggled with my mental health since I was 14. After graduating I got any job to earn money. Working in retail was very unfulfilling and making my mental health worse. I love the approach of the Health and Wellbeing College giving opportunities for people who’ve had a difficult time. Since working for the College my confidence has shot up from someone who was scared to get on a bus, to travelling every day, and now I drive! I have learnt so many new skills and it’s amazing to have a job where you don’t have to hide your mental health problems; it makes me feel more relaxed and accepted. I feel happy to come into work every day”.
Amy adds “I joined the Health and Wellbeing College in 2016 as a student and attended a selection of the courses. This helped me massively, making me feel more empowered to help myself and I feel more in control of my life. In 2017 I became a volunteer doing admin work and now I am a Peer Trainer. Those courses that I attended as a student last year, I now teach to current students! The College has been a life changer and I’m so grateful to be able to give back to this service”
Good work is good for your health. Occupational therapists can help the whole NHS turn a million patient contacts every 36 hours into a million opportunities to talk about work.
Comments or feedback?
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