North East and Cumbria NHS to receive '£18m' to help people back to work
by Sam Volpe · ChronicleLiveThe North East and North Cumbria is to receive "about £18m" as part of a national plan to replace job centres and put "coaches" to help people back to work into GP surgeries.
The funding has been awarded by the Government to the North East and North Cumbria Health and Growth Accelerator Scheme - which will place work and health coaches in GP surgeries and other health settings.
The idea will build on work already happening in the region such as the "waiting well" scheme, which has provided coaching and advice to people on NHS waiting lists to help them with issues affecting things like their fitness, diet and mental health. The Department for Work and Pensions has also been running a one-to-one support service in County Durham and the Tees Valley which has helped upwards of 2,000 people into work.
Health leaders welcomed the extra funding. Samantha Allen told a meeting of the North East and North Cumbria's Integrated Care Board on Tuesday that the funding would amount to around £18m. Welcoming the announcement, she said: "This additional funding for our region is much needed, and will help us better support people who can benefit from it.
"We have shown how much of a difference this support can make in people's lives. Our award-winning Waiting Well programme makes a real difference by identifying patients who can benefit from help with fitness, diet and mental health while waiting for surgery – meaning a better and quicker recovery. By combining this approach with extra help in GP practices, we can offer personalised support to patients who can benefit the most.
"We have excellent services in our region, but people's health is affected by wider factors like poverty, housing and jobs. By linking with other services, the NHS can help address some of these issues, support people into work and improve their health."
Sunderland GP Dr Martin Weatherhead said being able to offer "practical, often non-medical" help in surgeries through the existing schemes had made a huge difference - and back the funding to expand them. He said: "Every day we see people who want to be at work, but need practical, often non-medical help as well as what a GP can offer. It might be help with anxiety, confidence-building or practical things like how to apply for jobs or manage the return-to-work process sensitively.
"The results so far have been impressive, with almost one-third of the patients who see an advisor successfully getting back to working life. Having a job, feeling productive and getting a steady income makes a big difference to everyone's health."
A total of 12 of the 14 local authorities across the region have above average rates of people unable to work due to sickness and disability. The new scheme will offer "practical advice and help with common issues like anxiety, as well as helping employers make workplace adjustments where they can", the NHS said. Patients who could benefit will be identified through data analysis.
The North East will be one of three trailblazer areas for the so-called "NHS accelerators” - and the aim will be to stop people falling out of work completely due to ill health. There will also be pilots of schemes where young people can get better skills.
North East Mayor Kim McGuinness said: "I have made it my ambition to make North East England the home of real opportunity. We are already starting to deliver projects that will make a real difference and that’s why the Government has chosen the North East as a trailblazer area for Get Britain Working, which will further boost our own plans.
“We don’t need to be told the reasons why people are excluded from work because of health issues, because the jobs out there are insecure and low-paid, or because they were not allowed a second chance since leaving school. Our Get Britain Working trailblazer will give us the power here in the North East to take the step we know will work in our communities, in partnership with both the Government and NHS."
The announcement was made as part of the Labour Government's Get Britain Working Again plan, published on Tuesday. This comes as figures show how long-term sickness has been a major driver in joblessness since the pandemic, having risen from approximately two million in 2019.
This will see the extra mental health support rolled out to coach people with mental illnesses into work, while job centres will be replaced by a new National Jobs and Careers Service.
Young people will meanwhile also be offered a “guarantee” of an apprenticeship, training or help in finding a job. Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall told the House of Commons the commitment showed the Government valued young people.
She added: “You are important. We will invest in you and give you the chances and choices you deserve. But in return for these new opportunities, you have a responsibility to take them up, because being unemployed or lacking basic qualifications when you’re young can harm your job prospects and wages for the rest of your life, and that is not good enough for young people or for our country.”
Join our Breaking News and Top Stories WhatsApp community
Join our Breaking News and Top Stories WhatsApp community for all the latest news direct to your phone.
To join you need to have WhatsApp on your device. All you need to do is choose which community you want to join, click on the link and press 'join community'.
No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the ChronicleLive team.
We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners.
If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'.
If you’re curious, you can read our privacy notice.