Working together to support people recovering from mental ill
health at work
Try to ensure that any clinical
interventions support a return to work.
Many people with mental ill-health can, and
do, continue to work successfully. In fact working can be
part of the recovery process and in some people it can help prevent
a mental health condition from getting worse. But, most people will
need some type of support to stay in work and to continue to
function well at work.
Clinicians play an important role in changing
how patients and their employers think about the relationship
between recovery from mental ill-health and starting or returning
to work. The message for employers and patients is different
from returning to work after a surgical procedure for example,
where guidance quoted for returning to physical tasks may be six
weeks to three months for most people depending on the nature of
the work. It is difficult to give such precise predictions
for many mental health conditions, but we do know that the longer a
person is off work the less likely they are to return. For
people with mental health problems it is important to begin
preparations to return to work early in the treatment process.
Treatment and return to work efforts should be done in
parallel and not sequentially. It is important therefore to
identify what type of tasks your patient can do and how work
patterns can be changed to accommodate this.
It makes good business sense for employers to
ensure that they implement policies to support people with mental
health conditions to work appropriately. A healthy workplace
protects and increases the productivity of employees by reducing
staff absence as well as staff presenteeism where staff turn up to
work but perform below their best.
Whether you work in primary care settings, occupational health
or in secondary care you have a key role to play in ensuring that
the right adjustments are in place for people with a mental health
condition to participate in work. The first part of this
support is the place that getting into or returning to work has in
your patient’s care plan. This section also includes
information on how long people with mental health problems may be
off work.
Links
to resources:
Centre
for Mental Health has undertaken a number of
projects on Recovery which aims to change the way in which mental
health services and practice can be changed to help people
recover their lives. The project has produced 10 top tips
which are steps that each professional can take to move towards
recovery-oriented practice.
The
Implementing Recovery Organisational Change
(ImROC) project carried out with the NHS
confederation is concerned with the redesign of mental health
services.
The Centre for Mental Health has also produced
research identifying the benefits of work on mental and physical
health and well being as well as effective interventions to place
and support people with established mental health problems in the
workplace.
Fair deal for mental
health is a campaign by the Royal College of
Psychiatrists which includes work on Recovery as one of eight
priority areas. The
recovery section includes resources and case
studies from around the UK.
Healthy
Working UK
This website has been developed in collaboration with the Royal
College of General Practitioners, the Faculty of Occupational
Medicine and Society of Occupational Medicine and is based on the
Healthy Working Wales pilot developed by Cardiff University and the
Welsh Assembly Government. It provides GPs, primary healthcare
professionals and clinicians working in secondary care, with timely
access to information, training and decision aids to support the
management of health and work, including guidance and decision
aids on the Fit note
Rethink
This section has resources on recovery including a guide for mental
health professionals on supporting recovery, reflections and
testimonies from mental health service users on their experiences
of recovery.
Mental
Healthcare
This website aims to provide up to date and reliable information
about psychosis for family members and friends. It includes
resources from Institute of Psychiatry, South London and Maudsley
NHS Foundation Trust with support from Rethink. The website
has sections on recovery
and also on employment
Mental Health
Foundation
The Mental Health Foundation is a leading mental health research,
policy and service improvement charity.
Recovery and Resilience, March 2011 This
report includes narratives from African, African-Caribbean and
South Asian women's recovery from mental distress. The project was
commissioned by the National Mental Health Development Unit and
draws on positive stories of recovery and resilience and highlights
what helped women from these communities in their healing
process.
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Managing how personal
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and employer
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