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Local Practice
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Region-Wide Electronic Consultation Report Background As part of the process of consultation on the development of a regional Statement of Priorities for mental health and employment a number of key organisations across the region were contacted in addition to those who contributed to the local study sites in Sedgefield, Durham City and Newcastle (West). An electronic template was circulated which asked a number of key questions about the issues of mental health and employment and the role of individual organisation in contributing to the agenda. Templates were sent to all mental health commissioning managers, North East Social Enterprise Partnership, Chamber of Commerce, Health and Safety Executive, Northeast Employer Coalition, NHS North East, Mental Health North East and the Association of North East Councils. In some cases the consultation document was forwarded by the above to relevant partners and a total of 10 responses were received from the following organisations: Open Clasp Theatre Company, Pine Tree, Tyneside Women’s Health, Mental Health North East, Northumberland Tyne and Wear Mental Health Trust, North East Employer Coalition, Gateshead Pathways to Work team, Middlesbrough Council, Gateshead City Council. Content and Themes Question 1: What is the Primary objective of your organisation? Responses were received from a range of voluntary and statutory organisations providing specialist mental health and employment support to commissioning services and providing informal support to a range of client groups. Question 2: What is the role of your organisation in providing employment support for individuals with mental health problems? Nine of the ten responses saw a role for their organisation in contributing to employability. This varied from simple sign posting to working 1:1 with individuals to build confidence and set goals, provide training and practical support in managing health conditions. One organisation had a role in setting the strategic direction locally across a number of partner organisations. Question 3: How do you measure the net impact of the services you commission/provide in relation to mental health and employment and does this data inform future activity? There were a variety of answers to this question with some organisations measuring softer outcomes in this area of work and others measuring specific outcomes such as numbers securing employment. A number of organisations recognised the value of distance travelled and person related outcomes such as increased confidence; the difficulty of measuring and recording such outcomes was expressed, however qualitative data was collected in some cases through questionnaires and case studies. Some programmes were also engaged in external evaluation programmes. One respondent did not answer this question. Question 4: Who do you work with to achieve this? And what mechanisms do you use e.g. local area agreements? Respondents were at very different stages in engagement with some multi-agency partnerships already in place and working jointly through local area agreements and established networks. Others were at the early stages of identifying partners. One organisation expressed the difficulty of finding capacity within small organisations to develop networks with partners. Two respondents did not answer and one answered “not applicable”. Question 5: Who do you see as the major partners in addressing the employment needs of individuals with mental health problems? There was knowledge of a significant range of partners with a strong indication of the importance of the voluntary and community sector in delivering on employability. Health and care organisations were referred to but there was no explicit mention of the role of specialist mental health trusts and limited acknowledgement of primary care services. A number of respondents referred to partnerships with employment services but only one response highlighted employers themselves as a key partner. Few respondents acknowledged the role of regional organisations. Only two respondents acknowledged the role of service users and carers as a key partner. No respondents referred to welfare rights teams Question 6: What do you understand as the barriers to accessing and retaining employment for individuals with mental health problems? A strong indication that stigma and discrimination, misconceptions and lack of understanding were significant barriers with five respondents referring specifically to employers’ negative attitudes and practices. There were also concerns about the lack of in-work support provided through current services. Benefits and financial issues were also a concern. One respondent did not fully understand the barriers Question 7: What is/could your organisation doing/do to address these? The issues of providing individual support and facilitating or engaging in partnerships came through strongly in response to this question. Working with and championing employers was also reported as something that respondents were currently doing and could do more of. Three respondents referred to positive in house practices. One answer was unclear and one respondent provided no answer. Question 8: What is behind the rise in poor mental health in the North East of England? Stigma and discrimination was apparent in a number of responses. Social factors played a strong part in what people perceived to contribute to poor mental health including unemployment, finance, societal and personal expectations and substance misuse. The cultural and structural changes which have taken place in the North East, including the decline of traditional industry, were also referred to. One respondent replied that this was well documented and two did not respond Question 9: What is your own organisation doing to recruit and retain individuals with mental health problems and to what extent do the public sector have a duty to lead by example in this area? One organisation felt that this conflicted with the management of sickness absence and the individual response stated that they were “not likely to employ anybody with a known health problem mental or otherwise .i will not employ smokers overweight people or people with high sickness for whatever reason as this is not fair on other team members who have to pick up their work if they go off sick” Amongst other responses there was a general consensus that the statutory sector had a duty to lead by example in this area. Positive working practices within respondents own organisations included fair recruitment, in work support, flexible working and work life balance and accessible management. Good working conditions were also referred to. One organisation were keen to expand a work placement programme to individuals with mental health problems and make sustainable jobs more accessible following work placements Specific posts which encouraged service users to apply were referred to by one organisation and others demonstrated a commitment to being an inclusive employer. One organisation provided no response and one stated that their organisation was doing very little. Implications for Recommendations
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