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Employment Support

Checked: 16-01-2025 by Vicky Ryan Next Review: 15-01-2027

Support for people with mental health issues

The IPS Primary Care Service is delivered in Partnership by AWP & Waythrough (formerly Richmond Fellowship)

The IPS model is an evidence-based model funded by NHSE and recognised by NICE as an essential aspect of mental health care.

Who is the service for:

For people with any mental health issues who want or need support around employment
IPS cannot work with individuals who only want to look at voluntary work.

What support is offered:

Confidence building
Job search
CV development
Interview techniques
Support with reasonable adjustments in the workplace
Support around benefits and benefit counselling
Support is offered typically for 9 months during job search and 4 months or longer per job
IPS can support via phone, emails or face to face in the community

Please see the AWP website for further details

Referral

Self-referral - Patients can self-refer via the AWP website Self Referral Form

GP’s can also refer by sending the referral form to: PrimaryCare@waythrough.org.uk

Support for people with physical health issues

WorkWell is a government funded pilot that is focused on supporting individuals with physical health challenges and ill health (other than mental health) remain in work and thrive or return to the workplace. It is being delivered across BNSSG in collaboration with Bristol City Council.

The ultimate aim of the service is to reduce occurrences of work absences or unemployment due to ill health. In so doing, the service hopes to reduce the number of Fit notes that are issued for individuals accessing the service.

Referral Criteria

Live or be registered with a GP in BNSSG
Individuals at risk of absence from work due to an acute physical ill health (this includes Long Covid, Pain and MSK conditions)
Individuals who have received their first or second FIT Note with a total duration of no longer than 12 weeks
Individuals who would benefit from low intensity interventions to return to the work place
Focused on staying in work, or returning to work

WorkWell will not be able to support:

Individuals requiring surgery or intensive medical support

What support is offered:

Specialist Work and Health coaches will work 1:1 with participants to:

Develop either a thrive in work plan, or a return to work plan based on their individual needs
Work with the participants employer to make reasonable adjustments, access funding where applicable and smooth the transition back to work.
Make onwards referrals to specialist health services, community services and training where required
Provide information on benefits and additional financial support that may be available
Provide in work support for the individual

Referral

Self-referral - Patients can sign up for WorkWell via the WorkWell West website

GPs and Social prescribers can also refer using the same link.

Resources

OneCare have developed some EMIS resources to support IPS. This includes text that can be copied into your messaging system to create a template for GPs to send to patients for self-referral.

Efforts are made to ensure the accuracy and agreement of these guidelines, including any content uploaded, referred to or linked to from the system. However, BNSSG ICB cannot guarantee this. This guidance does not override the individual responsibility of healthcare professionals to make decisions appropriate to the circumstances of the individual patient, in consultation with the patient and/or guardian or carer, in accordance with the mental capacity act, and informed by the summary of product characteristics of any drugs they are considering. Practitioners are required to perform their duties in accordance with the law and their regulators and nothing in this guidance should be interpreted in a way that would be inconsistent with compliance with those duties.

Information provided through Remedy is continually updated so please be aware any printed copies may quickly become out of date.