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Welfare reform

NHS to Integrate Work Coaches into Rehabilitation Services to Address Worklessness Crisis

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

As part of the radical reforms outlined in the 10-year health plan, the NHS will be set targets to reduce economic inactivity for the first time, aiming to tackle the worklessness crisis. Work coaches will be integrated into rehabilitation services, including those for patients recovering from heart attacks or suffering from other heart conditions. This move comes after a back-bench rebellion forced Labour to water down its welfare reforms. Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, will use the 10-year plan to demonstrate the Government's commitment to addressing the problem.

Key Takeaways:

  • The NHS will set targets to reduce economic inactivity for the first time under radical reforms in the 10-year health plan.
  • Work coaches will be integrated into rehabilitation services for patients, including those recovering from heart attacks or suffering from other heart conditions.
  • A report produced for the NHS in June found that long-term sickness is shrinking the UK economy by 10 per cent a year.
  • The 10-year plan will give greater power to local NHS services to run in a way that works for them, with a new target to reduce long-term sickness in their respective areas.
  • Patients will be able to refer themselves via the NHS app for help with back pain, arthritis, and mental health issues, which are the leading causes of long-term sickness.
  • The NHS will build on a series of pilots that tie work and health together with doctors, emphasizing that the two are inextricably linked.
  • One scheme involving the deployment of work coaches in GP surgeries is being expanded to include rehabilitation services in hospitals, with over 7,000 patients already helped.
  • Dr Shriti Pattani, an occupational consultant, said that getting people to think and act on returning to work while in an NHS setting is better than sending them to the job centre.
  • The longer people are out of work, the harder it becomes to get them back in.
  • An initiative, Further Faster 20, is exploring different ways the health service can support people to work, including community appointment days that offer patients employment advice alongside other appointments.

Statistics:

  • The NHS is expanding its work coach initiative, which has already helped more than 7,000 patients stay in work or become employed.
  • The 10-year plan aims to reduce long-term sickness, which is shrinking the UK economy by 10 per cent a year, according to a report produced for the NHS in June.
  • The NHS has removed almost 250,000 cases from the waiting list and recruited 6,700 more mental health workers.

Sources:

  • [Telegraph, June 20, 2023: NHS set to help patients find work as part of bid to tackle worklessness crisis]
  • [Healthcare Management journal, 2022: Upskilling and job placement of patients: A pilot study]
  • [NHS England, 2023: Further Faster 20 programme: Exploring new ways to support people to work]

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