Health leaders in the region have welcomed new Government money to help people back into work, by offering extra support in health services such as GP practices and hospitals
The Government has confirmed funding for the North East and North Cumbria Health and Growth Accelerator scheme, to place work and health coaches in GP practices and other services to offer advice, coaching and support to people when health issues become a barrier to working.
The service will build on two pioneering programmes led by North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB) and GP practices alongside the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and the region's combined and local authorities.
These are the ICB's Waiting Well programme, which supports patients waiting for surgery with health and lifestyle advice, and the DWP's Patient Advisory Service which has helped almost 2,000 people back to work through one-to-one support in County Durham and the Tees Valley. The funding will also help the region's employers offer more health and wellbeing support to their staff.
Samantha Allen, the ICB's chief executive, said: "This additional funding for our region is much needed, and will help us better support people who can benefit from it.
"We have shown how much of a difference this support can make in people's lives. Our award-winning Waiting Well programme makes a real difference by identifying patients who can benefit from help with fitness, diet and mental health while waiting for surgery – meaning a better and quicker recovery. By combining this approach with extra help in GP practices, we can offer personalised support to patients who can benefit the most.
"We have excellent services in our region, but people's health is affected by wider factors like poverty, housing and jobs. By linking with other services, the NHS can help address some of these issues, support people into work and improve their health."
12 of the region's 14 council areas have a higher-than-average number of people unable to work due to sickness and disability. The new scheme will offer practical advice and help with common issues like anxiety, as well as helping employers make workplace adjustments where they can.
NHS staff will use data to identify patients who could benefit from this support, while linking closely with GP practices in the region's most deprived communities.
Dr Martin Weatherhead, a GP in Sunderland and health inequalities clinical lead for the ICB, said: "Every day we see people who want to be at work, but need practical, often non-medical help as well as what a GP can offer. It might be help with anxiety, confidence-building or practical things like how to apply for jobs or manage the return-to-work process sensitively.
"The results so far have been impressive, with almost one-third of the patients who see an advisor successfully getting back to working life. Having a job, feeling productive and getting a steady income makes a big difference to everyone's health."
The new scheme is one of a series of initiatives in which the ICB links with other services to support deprived communities and address wider causes of ill health such as money problems, anxiety, smoking or difficulties in maintaining a healthy weight.
Other projects include work to attract more doctors, nurses and health professionals to work in deprived communities, with extra training and support, as well as offering extra support to patients with things like psychological support, opioid reduction and childhood immunisations. Meanwhile, the Make Every Contact Count programme is training NHS and DWP staff so they can take every opportunity to help patients with things like quitting smoking or getting into healthier habits.
Sue Soroczan, DWP's Group Director for the North East of England, said: “Building on our strong relationship with the Integrated Care Board, I am delighted to support this opportunity for our communities across the North East.
"We are already working with 83 GP practices in the region where we offer holistic support to help patients to take ownership and control of their own journey back towards work. It’s about treating everyone as an individual, ensuring they have the assistance they need to thrive.
"The Health and Growth Accelerator is an opportunity to build on this fantastic initiative and scale it up so that the support reaches even more of those who need it.”