Health and Employability – Work can be good for your health!
What we are doing in Edinburgh
There is a strong relationship between work and health. Evidence clearly demonstrates that being in employment is generally beneficial to people’s physical and mental health and well-being, however this is dependant on the nature and quality of the work being undertaken.
NHS Lothian is a member of the Joined Up For Jobs strategy, so Edinburgh Community Health Partnership (CHP) is part of the Jobs Strategy Group.
The CHP is responsible for managing all community health services in Edinburgh including GP practices, clinics and community based services, including Health Visiting, District Nursing, Mental Health, Physiotherapy, etc. The CHP is also responsible for tackling health inequalities and improving health across the city.
In February 2009 the CHP seconded a Public Health Practitioner to the Jobs Strategy Team at Capital City Partnership to develop the work in Edinburgh on Health and Employability and to improve links between the NHS and the Joined Up For Jobs Strategy.
For further information contact Kate Burton, Public Health Practitioner (Health & Employability)
E-mail: kate.burton@nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk Tel: 07970 744519
Health & Employability sub-group
The Joined Up For Jobs Strategy has a Health & Employability sub-group chaired by an Assistant General Manager of the CHP. The aim of this group is to increase the number of people with health problems accessing employability services and support those with health problems to sustain employment. The Operational Plan provides further information on the activities that the group supports and develops.
The sub-group's key actions for 2009-10 include:
- To support workless people with health problems to progress into employment by delivering employability training to health care staff, establishing a single point of access and ensuring questions on employment are included in routine health assessments.
- To support workless people to progress into employment with NHS Lothian by supporting the implementation of NHS Lothian’s Human Resources and Organisational Strategy 2008-11 (www.nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk, the Healthcare Academy and NHS Lothian Employability Related Services Matrix).
- To promote the role of the workplace in promoting health and well-being by continuing to support the Healthy Working Lives programme, piloting workshops on Healthy Workplaces and Productivity (www.sdcmh.org.uk).
- To develop early intentions to prevent short-term sickness absence from progressing to long term sickness absence by supporting the provision of a vocational rehabilitation service and developing a Fit for Work scheme (www.workingforhealth.gov.uk).
In response to the recent economic downturn we have recently produced a leaflet on ‘Coping with the Stress of Job Loss’. Copies of the leaflet are available from NHS Lothian Health Promotion Library and Resource Centre, tel: 0131 536 9451/2/3 or e-mail: library@nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk
A report is now available which summarises the findings of a survey undertaken with health staff in Edinburgh. Within Edinburgh health and employability training has been available to health staff since September 2009. As well as raising awareness about the health benefits of employability, the training also encourages health staff to refer patients/clients to the Get On phone line, an employability project run by the City of Edinburgh Council. This report summarises the findings of a survey undertaken with health staff to assess:
• Impact of the training
• Referrals to the Get On phoneline
• Future support needs in relation to employability
The report is available in the Document Library.
Mental Health Improvement
In May 2009 the Scottish Government published ‘Towards a Mentally Flourishing Scotland’, its policy and action plan for mental health improvement for 2009-2011 and beyond. The document priorities the promotion of wellbeing in the workplace – focusing on the prevention of common mental health problems, retaining people in work when they experience mental health problems – and helping those out of work due to mental illness, back into work.
A paper, detailing an evaluation of three pilot projects funded by the Jobs Strategy Programme to work specifically with people out of work who are experiencing mental ill health, is now available. The three projects evaluated were:
- Forth Bridge
- Women onto Work/Penumbra
- Volunteer Centre Edinburgh’s voluntary work coach
