DWP Work Coaches to go into MH wards

[Rinoachicken]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c98y09n8201o

so when you are at you absolute lowest and most unwell (which they are if they are an inpatient as bed are so scare), possibly lacking capacity, lacking cognisance function to understand and retain information, suicidal, psychotic - some tick box Jo, who’s only knowledge of mental health was a half day online course a couple of weeks ago, is going to come along and chat about your CV?!

If you are wanting to support people who are mentally unwell back into work, those acutely unwell in a hospital setting wouldn’t be my first priority - I’d be trying to increase the support AFTER discharge once stable, to those in the community and at primary care level first surely??!!

The DWP should have NO PLACE on a mental health ward imho - where the ONLY considerations and objectives should be stabilising people’s mental health.

This is probably just the extension of a successful scheme called IPS which helps MH service users match to suitable jobs and crucially gives support to employers too with reasonable adjustments and reducing barriers to access work.

IPS is very much welcomed by service users and has been helpful to a lot of people. My clients with severe and enduring mental illness very often do want to do at least some work for their own self esteem as much as anything else. It's one of the most popular and successful services we offer I have found.

Admittedly maybe an inpatient ward isn't the place you would start but I bet this is just building on the current outpatient scheme.

ipsgrow.org.uk/about/what-is-ips/

Maybe let's not believe every bit of negativity published by the right wing press.

Well if you had bothered to read the thread,
I have said several times, that I used to be a mental health nurse yes most patients will be very unwell on acute mental health wards
Andxthis wouldn't be suitable
Occasionally we has patients who were waiting for suitable accommodation and couldn't be discharged
This might help to maintain the mental health in some cases
Also i uses to work for a very large mental health Trust and there were several specialist in patient units for patients, recovering from,drug/ alcohol addiction, rehab etc
It might be suitable for some of these patients.

Given how unwell people have to be to get inpatient care isn't this the equivalent of going into an ICU and discussing how the patient will be getting back to work? Really NOT convinced by this idea at all.

So you work in them? As what? And how recently? Because I don't recognise the idea of disruptive people being in PICU wards, in my experience these days, pretty much every single patient is very ill and sometimes disruptive. 20 years ago, maybe. But even then, wards have never been a relaxing or pleasant environment.

Seeing someone to make sure you're getting the support you are eligible for is completely different to sending people in to give CV tips and suggest suitable employment. Give people a chance to return to something closer to normal functioning fgs. I don't need yet more pressure and lack of empathy when I'm already in a fucking miserable pit of despair.

You're a nurse, you realise that people in psych wards are often very ill. We know that because beds are so difficult to get.

Often patients are patched up and discharged, many won't be ready to walk straight into a job from hospital. For some, psych wards are a revolving door.

My friend had psychosis, was discharged then had a complete breakdown and was unable to function. She wouldn't have benefited from a chat with a job's advisor.

Now you're moving the goalposts and talking about addicts.

It could literally just be the opportunity to have a talk with an employment specialist and take a leaflet for when you are feeling better. For a lot of people having the hope that there is support to go back to work would be helpful I genuinely believe. Plus I am a bit sick of a defeatist attitude being taken that actually infantilises people with mental illnesses and helps no-one. Of all the things to get in a froth about some people on a mental health ward being offered some info/ support about work is surely not the hill to die on.

Oh dear the DWP Strike again. They aren't work coaches either, they are admin assistants.

A work coach when you've had a mental crisis is trying to put a sticky plaster on a broken arm.

The real need is for early intervention and access to mental health support at a much earlier stage before you hit crisis point.

But the government won't fund that. Cos on paper it looks like it's expensive (in reality it's probably more than cost effective because crisis treatment is so expensive).

Part of this includes shitty CAHMS support meaning that kids who would have benefitted from help age 12 or 13 spend years in the system waiting for support and then effectively age out and have to start over as well as dealing with huge life changing which sets up a chain of issues with confidence, anxiety, depression.

If someone had bothered to life coach as a teen, they would have avoided the mess in the first place.

Totally agree ,but not all inpatient wards are acute inpatient wards
And for some people albeit probably a limited number of pstients this might ,be helpful
Again.i seriously dounbt they would be allowed to wander around thw wards randomly

As someone who had a family member who was frequently sectioned. It might of been helpful in a way, they sort of bounced from a section to falling back in with a dodgy crowd and some recreational drug taking. Actually some solid help on a next step which wasn’t relatively easy benefit money and boredom might of been good for them. They sadly died but having a schedule of work or training and a plan to move forward with could surely benefit some people.

And why am i moving the goal posts talking about addicts?
There was a large addiction treatment inpatients unit in the.mental health Trust I worked ,for we had several specialist units not just acute wards .

I agree. Maybe some kind of free, shared accommodation where they could work in return for food and board. No access to alcohol or drugs, a proper routine and company from fellow unfortunates.

I'm surprised no-one has thought of it before.

I wish they'd just have a look at the whole system and rather than come up with these one size fits all approaches, actually apply some common sense. There are so many people for whom this scheme won't be suitable (and a few for whom it might).

I'm on LCWRA and want to work, but as far as the DWP is concerned, I can only either not work, or accept the first job I'm offered even if it isn't compatible with my conditions. There's no middle ground for "we'll help you upskill so you can access a job you can do".

Unfortunately, nuance doesn't get the headlines, so it's no longer fashionable in politics.

The article isn't talking about addicts, it's specifically talking about people with serious mental health issues.

Liz Kendall is talking about trials which had great results but hasn't shown anyone the evidence.

She's saying that she wants to do it because she wants to shrink the disability bill and that the UK workforce hasn't sprung back since COVID.

We're all aware that the UK has had severe cutbacks to services with austerity policies which other European countries haven't experienced. These cut backs included lack of investment in the NHS and social services. The Tories also cut Council budgets and severely cut funding to the third sector.

This has resulted in many people unable to work as they await treatment including practically non existent mental health treatment.

Kendall spoke of people losing their benefits and using that as a stick to 'incentivise' people to get back to work.

Do you really believe that someone discharged from hospital with a serious mental health problem should be forced to get back to work or lose their benefits?

Wouldn't it be better to invest in mental health services and provide appropriate support to those with serious mental health issues? To provide compassionate care to people before they reach crisis point?

This government are absolutely determined to conflate healthcare and the economy, aren't they?

At this rate, it won't be long before you get better/quicker treatment on the NHS if you're of working age/ having to be off work sick/ etc.

More people in work/healthier = more tax revenue without having to increase taxes.

Of course, people should want to be in work and those of working age who are healthy should be in work?

It takes a lot to be hospitalized with mental health problems nowadays, this is just a gimmick along with fat jabs , because they need to pretend the decline we are in is the fault of the unemployed .

A healthier nation will absolutely help grow the economy. But I don't want the NHS run to help the economy, I want it run to help people's health. Otherwise people who, for instance, can't work, will end up with substandard treatment.

I don't actually agree that people should want to be in work either. If you're able to, for instance, be a SAHP, or take early retirement, and that's what you want to do, what's wrong with that?

I can't imagine that the DWP staff will be taken with that idea either. I wouldn't have thought that visiting psychiatric facilities would be high up their list of fun things to do.

@110APiccadilly nobody is suggesting that but unfortunately the position we are in is that we need to get people back to work.

Nobody is suggesting that the NHS will only be for those able to work.

Being economically inactive is, unfortunately, bad for the country.

Re your first sentence. Not necessarily. Lots of people are in minimum wage jobs and they need in-work benefits because the cost of living isn't being addressed (ironically the cost of living and the consequences for people on low incomes is one cause of mental breakdown).

If the government wants to boost the economy and cut the benefits bill, they would address the cost of living. That actually includes a supportive not punitive benefits system. The current benefits system actually causes mental health breakdowns. That's known.

Also more council housing - bad or insecure housing costs both the benefits bill and healthcare many billions. And as others have pointed out end the false economy approach. Timely access to well-funded and good public services including NHS and social services would prevent people reaching crisis point.

How many people wouldn't have ended up in a mental health ward or become too unwell to work if they'd had access to disability benefits without extreme distress of the current system and if they'd had timely support from other public services? Loads.

Re your second sentence. That's the key word. "Healthy". If someone's too unwell to work, they're too unwell to work.

Finally if the genuinely helpful approach was adopted (ending the false economy one) and people were given the time needed - without extra distress and worry about benefits that makes them more ill, then what? The issue frequently isn't the person looking for work. The problem is employers.

If the government wants to "get more people into work" then why aren't they focusing on employers who practice disability and employment gap discrimination?

OMG do they ever give up? I'm absolutely appalled at this.

Your last paragraph sums up exactly what I have thought for a long time. So many employers won't even interview,let alone employ someone with physical/mental disabilities,and who have gaps in their employment history due to these issues. When the government say things like anyone who is on ESA but is deemed fit to work,hasn't found a job within a year will have their benefits stopped,I find this utterly terrifying. With the best will in the world,someone who is mentally or physically ill is going to struggle to find a sympathetic employer.

Plus I am a bit sick of a defeatist attitude being taken that actually infantilises people with mental illnesses

Indeed. Like assuming everyone with mental ill health have no or few qualifications or work experience and need tips from a "work coach" on how to write a CV.
Probably be more helpful to have a work coach give HR departments tips on how to not discriminate against candidates with illnesses or disabilities or related employment gaps.

Btw where are these job vacancies for everyone currently not in work? There are more people on jobseekers benefits than there are total job vacancies in the UK. That's not including people receiving disability benefits.