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Working Well: Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care


Orange Working Well Logo   Funded by UK Government Logo

Working Well: Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care (IPSPC) is a new programme designed to support residents with physical or mental health disabilities to access or retain paid employment.

The £3.7m service delivered by The Growth Company in partnership with Groundwork will support up to 1,500 individuals between September 2023 and March 2025 to move into competitive employment if they are out-of-work, or to return to and retain their work if they are in-work and off sick or struggling due to their disability.

The Individual Placement and Support (IPS) model of supported employment that underpins the programme has traditionally focused on supporting individuals with severe mental illness accessing treatment through Secondary Care Mental Health services. Working Well: IPSPC will expand on the IPS model by taking referrals from primary care (e.g. Living Well, GP Practices, Primary Care Networks, Mental Health Practitioners, Social Prescribing Networks), including a wider cohort of participants (anyone with a physical or mental health disability) and introducing a job retention element for those struggling in work or off sick.

It is designed to build on the success of the IPS model, which moves away from a 'train and place' model that focuses on job readiness to a 'place, train, maintain' model that prioritises engagement with employers to create job opportunities for individuals. Evidence shows that this approach, with its focus on rapid job search, is more effective than a series of stepping stones to employment for certain cohorts.

Working in partnership with primary care providers, Working Well: IPSPC aims to offer individualised support including job coaching, benefits advice and other necessary support services to enable participants to achieve their job goals. The programme will work alongside a participant's normal health treatment, ensuring that employment support is provided in tandem with any medical or psychological care that they may receive.

Visit Working Well (External site) to register.
Eligibility criteria applies.