Working for a healthier tomorrow - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

1 / 36
About This Presentation
Title:

Working for a healthier tomorrow

Description:

'Employment is nature's physician and is essential to human happiness' Galen ... taxpayer, in terms of benefits and forgone tax revenue, are over 60 billion per ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

Number of Views:34
Avg rating:3.0/5.0
Slides: 37
Provided by: itsu191
Category:

less

Transcript and Presenter's Notes

Title: Working for a healthier tomorrow


1
Working for a healthier tomorrow
  • Mental Health and Employment
  • 21st April 2009

Carol Black DBE National Director for Health and
Work
2
The value of work
  • Employment is natures physician and is
    essential to human happiness
  • Galen (129-200)
  • Work is generally good for physical and mental
    health and well-being
  • Waddell Burton (2006)
  • Work needs to be good work. Poor
    relationships and poor work environments can lead
    to poorer health.

3
Social Determinants of Physical and Mental Health
Social Determinants of Physical and Mental Health
  • The social gradient
  • Stress
  • Early life
  • Social exclusion
  • Work/Unemployment
  • Social support
  • Addiction
  • Food
  • Transport

4
Mental health and well-being
  • Mental health and mental wellbeing are
    fundamental to the quality of life and
    productivity of individuals, families,
    communities and nations
  • enabling people to experience life as
    meaningful, and to be creative and active
    citizens.
  • WHO Mental Health
    Declaration for Europe
    (quoted by L.Friedli, WHO, 2009)

5
Mental health
  • Mental health influences a very wide range of
    outcomes for individuals and communities.
  • These include
  • healthier lifestyles
  • better physical health
  • improved recovery from illness
  • fewer limitations in daily living
  • higher educational attainment
  • greater productivity, employment and earnings
  • better relationships with adults and with
    children
  • more social cohesion and engagement and
  • improved quality of life
  • L.Friedli, Mental health,
    resilience and inequalities, WHO Europe 2009

6
Positive mental health
  • The focus on mental health activities capable
    of improving the wellbeing of the whole
    population marks an important shift towards
    recognising the benefits of promotion and
    prevention, in addition to improving the
    treatment of existing disorders.
  • It is also an acknowledgement that positive
    mental health and wellbeing can contribute to
    achieving a wide range of health and social goals
    of crucial importance to the long-term prosperity
    of Europe.

  • L.Friedli, WHO, 2009

7
Mental health the facts
  • 1 in 4 people will suffer some form of mental
    health problem during their lives
  • At any given time 1 in 6 working age adults have
    symptoms associated with mental ill-health (e.g.
    sleep problems, fatigue, etc) which do not meet
    the criteria for diagnosis
  • A further 1 in 6 working age adults experience
    diagnosable mental health problems (e.g.
    depression, anxiety, etc) at any given time
  • An estimated 1-2 of the population have severe
    mental health problems (e.g. schizophrenia,
    bipolar disorder, etc)
  • The Royal College of Psychiatrists Mental Health
    and Work (2008)

8
Mental health and work
  • Being in work generally leads to good mental
    health, self-esteem and well-being
  • Being out of work is associated with poor mental
    health, increased likelihood of anxiety and
    depression, and increased use of medication
  • When people return to work their mental health
    and well-being generally improve
  • Although work can pose a risk to mental health,
    the positive effects far outweigh the risks
  • People with mental health problems attach a high
    priority to work, and work has the potential to
    be part of the recovery process

9
Health of unemployed and re-employed men
Unemployed 18 24 months -v-
Unemployed gt6 months before re-employment
Mean scores
Nottingham health profile
Unemployed Re-employed Weighted random population
sample
Emotional reaction Social isolation
Physical mobility
A.NewmanTaylor, after McKenna and Payne, 1989
10
Worklessness and the next generation
  • Children in workless households suffer higher
    rates of psychiatric disorders
  • Evidence that behavioural/conduct disorders are
    more likely where no parent in the household is
    working
  • 30 of children who have a parent with a
    disability or health condition live in poverty
  • Evidence of correlation between lower parental
    income and poor health in children.
  • Children living in workless households are
    more likely to experience worklessness
    themselves during adult life

11
Most people off work have conditions that people
in work may have
  • Mild and treatable conditions
  • Depression, anxiety, stress-related mental health
    problems
  • Musculoskeletal conditions
  • Cardio-respiratory conditions
  • Responsible for over two-thirds of sickness
    absence and long-term incapacity
  • Inappropriate medicalisation - contact with
    the workplace is often lost.

12
Cost of working age ill-health
  • Overall costs of working age ill-health are in
    excess of 100billion per year
  • Around 172 million working days were lost to
    sickness absence in 2007, at a cost to the
    economy of over 13 billion (CBI)
  • Total costs to the taxpayer, in terms of benefits
    and forgone tax revenue, are over 60 billion per
    year.
  • Loss of productivity for those who are ill but
    still in work likely to be even greater
    estimated cost due to mental ill-health alone is
    15 billion a year (Sainsbury Centre for Mental
    Health)

13
My Review of the health of the working-age
population A new vision for health and work
Review commissioned by Secretaries of State for
Health and for Work and Pensions in 2007 to lay
the foundations for reform
  • At the heart of my vision
  • Prevention of illness and promotion of health and
    well-being in the workplace
  • Early intervention for those who are employed but
    absent with a sick note
  • Improvement of the health and well-being of those
    within the benefits system

Working for a Healthier Tomorrow
14
The workplace
There is poor understanding of health and
well-being initiatives that employers can
implement
  • Many employers do not have sickness-absence
    policies to enable early and sustained return to
    work
  • Many employers have no policy on handling mental
    ill-health
  • Many employers are unaware of the business case
    for investing in health and well-being
  • SMEs struggle to find accessible and affordable
    sources of support and advice
  • No national standards are available to employers
    when they purchase occupational health or
    well-being services

15
Promotion of health in the workplace
  • The promotion of physical health and fitness,
    and the prevention of physical disease, are
    highly-desirable goals, often pursued in large
    companies.
  • But the promotion of positive mental health
    and fitness is done by very few companies. Do we
    think it important, and how would it be done?

16
The role of the workplace
  • 60 of line managers underestimate the percentage
    of the UK population that experiences mental
    ill-health
  • 76 of line managers are aware they have managed
    at least one person with mental ill-health
  • Only 13 of managers have received training on
    mental health awareness
  • Many employers have no policy on handling mental
    ill-health
  • Few line managers have confidence in GP
    assessments particularly with regard to stress
  • Employers Forum on Disability survey (2008)

17
A world-wide programme for team resilience and
positive mental health
  • GlaxoSmithKline publicly report on the financial
    impact of their health and well-being programmes
  • GSK report shows that staff who are physically
    energised, mentally focussed, and have a clear
    sense of purpose, show sustained improvements in
    performance
  • Since 2002
  • 60 reduction in work-related mental illness
  • 20 reduction in absences due to mental
    ill-health, equivalent to savings of 2.4 million
  • 10-15 reduction in fatigue and 15 increase in
    self-esteem and job satisfaction

18
BT implementing a mental health strategy
  • Impact of a long-term structured approach
  • More than 5 years since BT rejected a candidate
    on the grounds of mental illness
  • Sickness absence rate due to mental health
    problems has fallen by 30 in 4 years despite
    pressured market conditions
  • Now get almost 80 of people who are off for more
    than 6 months with mental illness back into their
    own jobs (vs. 30 5 years ago, and 20
    nationally)
  • Medical retirement rate for mental illness has
    dropped by 80 in 5 years
  • Stress claims dramatically reduced
  • Enhanced reputation with key customers

Courtesy of Dave Wallington, BT
19
An international comparison Australias
beyondblue programme
  • beyondblue seeks to address depression in
    Australia through a comprehensive programme of
    activities, including
  • Reducing stigma in both the community and
    business by raising awareness of the symptoms,
    causes and treatments for depression a
    programme for line managers
  • Acting as an advocate for issues raised by people
    with depression and their carers
  • Supporting programmes which either prevent or
    provide early intervention for depression
  • Assisting primary care practitioners
  • Promoting research into the causes and effective
    treatments for depression

20
Early intervention the role of healthcare
professionals
  • All healthcare professionals need to understand
  • Good work is good for health and well-being
  • A return to functional capacity, and a sustained
    return to work where appropriate, should be key
    indicators of clinical success in the treatment
    of working-age people
  • Work-related issues within the healthcare setting
    (e.g. Vocational Rehabilitation, communication
    with employers, etc)

GPs are usually the first port of call they
issue most sick notes. A sick note is a powerful
therapeutic tool.
21
Consensus statement March 2008
  • Consensus Statement, signed on 5 March 2008 by
    the leaders of the healthcare profession.
  • It is a pledge to promote the link between good
    work and good health.
  • In future, all healthcare professionals should
    see retention in or a return to work as a key
    indicator of clinical success in the treatment of
    working age people

22
Early intervention
Paper Sick note
Electronic fit note
40 of all incapacity benefit claims are due to
mental ill-health
23
The Fit for Work Service
  • Early intervention
  • holistic
  • non-medicalised
  • case managed
  • good positive contact with employers
  • addressing the real problems which keep people
    out of work
  • effective vocational rehabilitation

24
Worklessness
In the UK the scale of the numbers on Incapacity
Benefits represents an historic failure of
healthcare and employment support to address the
needs of the working-age population. Working
for a healthier tomorrow (2008)
25
Health conditions and incapacity benefits
26
Improving the health of those who are out of work
  • 40 of all incapacity benefits claims are due to
    mental ill-health as the primary condition an
    increase of 1/3 since 1997
  • Total of 600,000 new incapacity benefits claims
    each year
  • 200,000 new incapacity benefits claims each year
    are due to mental ill-health as the primary
    condition, plus many others with mental
    ill-health as a secondary condition likely that
    over 1/2 of all new claimants suffer mental
    health problems
  • Only 15 of people with mental health problems
    come off incapacity benefits within 3 months
    compared with 20 of other claimants

27
An improvement in the health of those out of work
  • My Recommendations to Government
  • When models for the Fit For Work Service are
    established it should be made available to all
    those on out-of-work benefits
  • Health support should be fully integrated with
    employment and skills support
  • Consider incentives for employers to support the
    employment of those with disabilities or
    long-term health conditions
  • Develop a mental health and employment strategy.
  • Review the support available for people with
    mental health conditions and determine the most
    effective method of assisting this group of
    people back to work

Working for a
healthier tomorrow 2008
28
The Governments ResponseImproving health and
work changing lives
  • The response was published in November 2008.
  • It sets out how, in partnership, Government can
    work towards
  • Creating new perspectives on health and work
  • Improving work and workplaces
  • Supporting people to work
  • Measuring progress

29
Improving health and work changing
lives.Creating new perspectives on health and
work
  • A new electronic Fit Note
  • Support through new education and training
    initiatives
  • For GPs and nurses
  • For other professionals
  • Changing aspirations of children and young people

30
Improving health and work changing
livesCreating new perspectives on health and work
  • Developing standards and guidelines and a
    national accreditation system
  • Changing perspectives through social marketing
    and public health initiatives
  • A National Centre for Working-Age Health and
    Well-being

31
Improving health and work changing
lives.Improving work and workplaces
  • Helping businesses identify and quantify the
    costs of ill-health, and benefits of health and
    well-being initiatives
  • The Business HealthCheck Tool
  • Investors in People Framework

32
Improving health and work changing
lives.Improving work and workplaces
  • Support for SMEs
  • Extension to NHS Plus Programme of occupational
    health services for SMEs
  • National Occupational Health Helpline Pilot
    providing advice to SME line managers on managing
    individual cases
  • Championing Action at a Local Level health,
    work and well-being coordinators
  • Challenge Fund to encourage initiatives that
    improve health and well-being in the workplace
    and worker engagement

33
Improving health and work changing
lives.Supporting people to work
  • Piloting early intervention services from
    2009-2011
  • Fit for work services pilot
  • Employment Advisers in Improving Access to
    Psychological Therapies pilot
  • Employment Advisers in GP surgeries (pilot
    extension)
  • Access to Work pilot for people with fluctuating
    health conditions

34
Mental health and employment next steps
  • Mental Health and Employment Steering Group
    overseeing the creation of a national strategy
  • Steering Group membership has been drawn from a
    range of experts from business, academia, the
    medical profession, trades unions and the third
    sector
  • Intention is to complete and publish the new
    mental health and employment strategy by early
    summer 2009

35
A national strategy for mental health and
employment mapping the continuum
  • What intervention is most appropriate at each
    stage of the journey?

36
Improving health and work changing
livesAchieving the Government Vision
  • Success depends on working in partnership with
    employers, healthcare professionals, service
    providers across the public, private, voluntary
    and charitable sectors, individuals and their
    representatives
Write a Comment
User Comments (0)
About PowerShow.com