Inclusion

London Mental Health and Employment Partnership

The London Mental Health and Employment Partnership is committed to working with all the key organisations that have a role and influence in promoting mental health and employment across the London.

Membership includes;

  • Greater London Authority
  • Job Centre Plus
  • Learning and Skills Council
  • London Child Poverty Commissioners
  • London Councils
  • London Development Agency
  • London GPs
  • London Healthcare Commission
  • London Mental Health Trusts
  • London Primary Care Trusts
  • London Skills and Employment Board
  • Mental Health Service Users
  • National Housing Federation
  • NHS London
  • Regional Public Health Group London
  • Reed in Partnership
  • Representative bodies of business/employers
  • Shift
  • Tower Hamlets Primary Care Trust
  • Trade Unions
  • Voluntary and Community Sector.

 

The Partnership recognises that there are significant regional and local differences concerning levels of poverty, poor mental health and unemployment. 

The Cabinet Office’s document “Reaching Out: An Action Plan on Social Exclusion” called for the need to establish “dedicated regional teams to provide further support for the implementation of good practice around the employment of those with severe mental health problems” (Action 23, 2006).

Supporting this client-group’s needs is crucial.  The Partnership works to be more inclusive by address the needs of all of those who experience mental illness.

In response to the Cabinet Office’s guidance, the London Development Centre established the Mental Health and Employment Partnership in October 2007. This Partnership comprises a broad representation of regional and local government agencies to provide a practical programme of focused activity across London.

In striving towards improved outcomes for people with the range of mental illness, the London Mental Health and Employment Partnership has developed an Engagement Strategy and Action which focuses on improving the employment outcomes for people with a range of mental illness.

The Strategy & Action plan focuses its activities around three themes Increasing Influence, Increasing Profile and the London Mental Health and Employment Partnership becoming the “Go To Organisation” in terms of helping to achieve:

  • Better recruitment outcomes for people with mental illness, including the use of evidence based practice in job brokering.
  • Increased retention rates, including improved sickness absence management in the workplace. 
  • Promotion of mentally healthy workplaces and an increased emphasis on exemplar employers within the public sector.
  • Increased opportunities to promote education as a pathway into and within employment
  • An increase in volunteering for people with mental illness.

 

Supported Health Employment Programme (SHEP)

The SHEP programme aims to provide training, expertise and ongoing support over a three-year period to allow NHS Trusts within the twelve London Boroughs, signed up to the Local Area Agreement indicator that seeks to increase the number of secondary care mental health service-users into jobs. The training programme developed by LMHEP in collaboration with Partnership members helps trainees from these London Boroughs to build their own in-house capacity and capability within their mainstream services. Numerous "train the trainers" sessions have taken place across London. Graduates of SHEP programme have now established an ongoing learning and support network to help new trainers to develop local strategies and partnerships to initiative this service within their areas. The network is called the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) "train the trainer" Network as it reflects the name of the "train the trainers" course. Two IPS Network meetings have taken place so far and the Network members highlighted the importance of the Network and the learning it offered representatives of each of the nine mental health trusts in terms of updating each other on progress in delivering evidence based approaches to support employment.

Raising awareness of mental health issues with London's Employers - the City of London listens.........(Evening Standard)

"Mental Health and Emotional Well Being" - A Call to London employers Conference". .....On the 10th July 2008, at a City of London venue, the LMHEP, in partnership with the mental health initiative Stand to Reason, Herbert Smith and JPMorgan Cazenove held a conference for London's businesses to raise awareness about handling depression in the work place. Over 160 delegates attended the conference. The day offered delegates opportunities to listen to personal experiences of key prominent business people in coping with depression and opportunities to network to listen and to share ways of coping with depression in the work place from an employer's perspective.

Hand in Hand with Mental Health First Aid at London Development Centre.

Raising the mental health profile still further within London's business sector - free Mental Health First Aid - a further London Development Centre/National Mental Health Development Unit initiative - with training first rolled out in April - these were followed by additional training sessions for private sector employers in October and November 2008. Frontline Jobcentre Plus staff also received free training sessions. For information about Mental Health First Aid courses, or further information about LMHEP telephone the London Development Centre general enquiries at its offices at the Commissioning Support for London on 020 7433 6868.

A Collaborative Approach between LMHEP and the Working for Wellness Programme

With the LMHEP Strategy identifying the need to improve the employment prospects and experience of those people with a range of mental illnesses from the most to the least severe, the LMHEP team has aligned its work to the rollout of the Working for Wellness Programme (WfW) [add in link here].

WfW seeks to improve access to psychological therapies for Londoners. WfW is part of the national Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme funded by the Department of Health. The LMHEP team is tasked to quality assure employer engagement work undertaken by WfW.

A series of training aids/products have been developed jointly between LMHEP and WfW. For more information please contact the London Developmebt Centre at Commissioning

Increasing LMHEP influence.........

As part of its strategy to increase its influence within the employment sector the LMHEP in collaboration with others has set up a centralised Employer Engagement Unit [is there a link]: the Royal Mail - working for Wellness Linked Employer Scheme. For more information about this and other schemes and products please contact the London Development Centre general enquiry number located with the Commissioning Support for London organisation in Victoria on 0208 433 6868.

How LMHEP action can help through the Credit Crunch....

Building on its success from the City of London conference for employers on 10th July, the LMHEP and Stand to Reason are working across the City's banking district to provide practical support and assistance so that employers can help employees facing potential redundancy and incumbent mental stress linked to job loss.

"Whose business are psychological therapies in a recession?"

This year (February 2009) the Working for Wellness Annual Debate took as its theme responsibility in the future for funding psychological therapies. The debate question raised issues around with an economic climate and political landscape much different from that when the Working for Wellness/Improving Access to Psychological Therapies was first developed Who was to fund such important interventions in future years. The debate offered arguments about whether business had a greater responsibility to fund such therapies or should there be greater State involvement, or perhaps a mixture of both. Speakers who took part in the debate included Dame Carol Black, National Director for Health and Work, Paul Farmer, Chief Executive MIND, Louise Aston Campaign Director of Business in the Community's Business in Action on Health campaign and Jonathan Naess, Chief Executive of Stand Reason.

AND COMING UP........................

New Guidance publications under development

Guidance to Primary Care Trusts on Commissioning Mental Health and Employment services is currently being developed by the LMHEP.

The LMHEP Team is also currently developing "Capital Care for Mental Health in the Recession" - this guide sets out a number of actions from key sectors and agencies across London. The guidance will include contributions from NHS London, Jobcentre Plus, London Voluntary Services Council, Learning & Skills Council and the National Housing Federation, publication is expected in June.

 

Bespoke website under development

For more details about the LMHEP proposed web site go to www.workingforwellness.org.uk. A bespoke website is best equipped to support vulnerable Londoners during challenging economic times.