NHS Sussex and Health Innovation KSS partner to tackle health-related employment barriers

NHS Sussex has partnered with Health Innovation Kent Surrey Sussex (KSS) to support scoping and evaluation of an employment support programme aimed at helping individuals facing health-related barriers get back into work.

Supported by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in Sussex, the ICB has commenced work with Health Innovation KSS to scope, baseline and evaluate three pilot ‘WorkWell’ models at neighbourhood level.

WorkWell is an example where the NHS is working closely with partners on wider determinants of health.

This is one key part of the UK Government’s ambitions to better join-up employment and health support; recognising that unemployment is a key contributor to poorer health outcomes, and equally, improved health outcomes can support the Government’s wider ambitions to reduce economic inactivity.

The key to any successful WorkWell service includes integration of services to provide early intervention, which support people experiencing health-related barriers get back into work, or which stop them falling out of work in the first place.

The vehicle for delivery will be through Sussex’s emerging Integrated Community Teams (ICTs), which will work at neighbourhood level, to support mobilisation of service integration between health and work. The initial focus will be on support for people experiencing musculoskeletal (MSK) and / or mental health conditions, two of the most common health issues that lead to long-term sickness and economic inactivity.

Utilising available data and insights, the proposed sites for these initial pilots are the east of Brighton and Hove, Hastings, and Crawley.

“The WorkWell initiative complements the fourth aim of Integrated Care Systems, which is helping the NHS to support broader social and economic development,” said Matthew Carr, Clinical Director for Integrated Community Teams at NHS Sussex.

“We want to improve local lives and reduce health inequalities while supporting economic growth, and collaboration with organisations from across Sussex will be key to the programme’s success.”

Rebecca Sharp, Senior Programme Manager at Health Innovation KSS, emphasised the crucial link between health and employment: “People with health conditions who want to work should be able to, and the WorkWell programme will support them to do so. We are looking forward to working with NHS Sussex, Local Authorities, VCSE sector and DWP/Jobcentre Plus, to design and deliver a WorkWell service that reflects local needs.”

Health inequalities are avoidable differences in health-related outcomes across the population, and between different groups within society. These outcomes include how long people are likely to live, the health conditions they may experience, and the care and support that is available to them. The underlying factors that contribute to these differences include the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and these are referred to as wider determinants of health.

Sussex Integrated Care Board (ICB) is committed to reducing health inequalities through deeper collaboration of services in local communities and neighborhoods to deliver a joined-up approach to prevention.