Centre for Mental Health

Sainsbury Centre welcomes government commitment to improve mental health at work

7 December 2009

People with mental health problems should receive better support to get and keep paid employment following the publication of two major government reports today.

Responding to the publication of Working our Way to Better Mental Health and Realising Ambitions, Sainsbury Centre joint chief executive Dr Bob Grove said: "The Government has recognised that mental distress is the biggest health problem among the UK workforce.

"For too long, people with mental health problems have been neglected when they become unwell at work and left unsupported in their efforts to get jobs. Yet being in paid work is good for our health, and supporting staff mental health is good for business.

"Early intervention is essential to help people with depression and anxiety to stay at work. In particular we need to give line managers and supervisors the skills and confidence to support staff who are experiencing problems.

"We particularly welcome Dr Rachel Perkins' recommendations for supporting people with severe mental health problems into employment. Extending the Access to Work scheme to offer guaranteed support for people with mental health problems when they apply for work is a big step forward. And making Individual Placement and Support (IPS) the standard approach used by health and employment services to support people with mental health problems into employment is vital. We know from a wealth of research that IPS works yet too few people still benefit from it.

"It is now up to the NHS, Jobcentre Plus, Pathways to Work and specialist employment providers to come together and do what works to help more people with mental health problems to fulfil their potential and realize their ambitions."

Sainsbury Centre also today welcomed the publication of New Horizons, the Government's ten-year strategy for mental health in England. Commenting on the strategy, Bob Grove said: "The National Service Framework for Mental Health brought about momentous changes in the quality of mental health care available in communities across England. The challenge now is to keep up the pace of reform and to enable people with mental health problems a fair chance in life and the opportunity to make better lives for themselves.

"We especially welcome the emphasis on promoting good mental health and on intervening early when people first show the signs of mental distress. Acting early to reduce the risk of conduct and emotional problems among children should be the norm across the country.

"Spending public money on effective action to improve our mental health and to enable people with mental health problems to improve their lives will reap immediate and longer term benefits for all of us. Mental health really is everyone's business. We hope that today's announcements will see that fact embodied in action across government to make a difference to millions of lives."