Enw'r sefydliad: Rhyl City Strategy Community Interest Company Ltd
Cyflwynwyd: 28/11/2011 gan bridgette.handley@rhylcitystrategy.co.uk
- Busnes craidd y sefydliad: provides local solutions to unemployment, economic inactivity and more recently through the Fit for Service pilot, in partnership with Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board and Public Health Wales, supporting individuals with work limiting health conditions, to return to work after a period of sickness absence.
- Beth fydd y prosiect yn ei wneud?: The project will provide a range of co-ordinated services for employed and self employed individuals with a health condition, which has either caused them to take sickness absence, or in the case of individuals employed by small to medium sized businesses (SMEs) is creating a situation where they are at risk of going off sick. From Dame Carol Black’s Review of the health of Britain’s working age population ‘Working for a Healthier Tomorrow’, we know that the estimated annual economic costs of sickness absence and worklessness associated with working age ill-health are over £100 billion. From the same report, we also know that that around 55% of the 600,000 people each year who move onto incapacity benefits, come from work or from a period of sickness absence from work. Dame Carol identified that ‘emerging evidence suggests that for many people, early interventions help to prevent short-term sickness absence from progressing to long-term sickness absence and ultimately worklessness’. In the 18 months that we have been delivering the FFWS in the small costal strip of North Wales from Prestatyn to Llandudno, we have been providing early interventions to help prevent the downwards slide from sickness absence to worklessness, as described above. Evidence from the Participant Survey conducted by the Institute of Employment Studies on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), demonstrates that in the area covered by the Rhyl pilot, 86% of respondants answered ‘yes’ to the question ‘Has the service helped you stay in /return to work? Through the support of ESF, we plan to extend our current provision to enable a greater number of participants to benefit from the support of the service. We will do this by extending the life of the service from 2013 to 2014, extending the area to offer the service to participants currently unable to access the service because they do not live or work in our current catchment area and by widening the eligibility criteria to include employees of SMEs who are suffering work limiting health conditions, but are unable or unwilling to take sickness absence. This growing trend of presenteeism means that a proportion of the workforce is not functioning to their full capacity, to the detriment of both the employee and the employer. We plan to offer a fully case managed service, with early access to physical and psychological interventions to enable the client to return to work earlier, or to stay in work. In addition, if appropriate, the Case Managers can mediate with the clients’ employer to facilitate a more effective return to work. The model we will employ is the biopsychosocial model, which engages the client on a holistic level and looks at the medical, psychological and social factors which contribute to their ill health and/or lack of wellbeing. Signposting to other agencies, such as those who give advice and/ or support for those with debt, substance misuse, housing or employment issues, will be an integral part of the service. We also plan to implement a workplace health programme, to educate and train local businesses in health and wellbeing practices, including leadership and management development training which employs emotional intelligence and is delivered by individuals with practical experience in the field. Work related stress is a major factor in sickness absence as reported by both GP referrers and clients during their initial assessment with Case Managers. By educating employers in the importance of health and wellbeing at work and training them to spot the early signs and put in place remedial practices, this contributing factor should be alleviated in our participating local businesses. We also plan to promote the Small Workplace Health Awards and Corporate Health Standards through the extended local network. There will also be partnership working, to encourage local employers to engage with existing provision to encourage health and wellbeing in the workplace such as Bangor University’s Mindfulness programme. For those employees for whom their current working environment is causing/ exacerbating the condition, we intend to work with the planned ‘Open Doors’ project to help those in work change jobs/ employer or even career. While there is much support for the unemployed/ economically inactive to gain work, there is little or no provision for those already employed, to find more suitable employment. For those who do not fit our eligibility criteria in terms of their having longer term, chronic health conditions, we anticipate referring to the existing New Work Connections programme. Through the extended area delivery, we plan to recruit an additional Case Manager, ideally a Welsh speaker, so that we can offer provision through the medium of Welsh, for those with this preference and /or in more rural areas. As there is no other support locally for employed individuals with these work limiting health characteristics and we have already demonstrated demand for the service, we expect the predicted outputs to be achievable.
- Ardaloedd gofodol y bydd y prosiect yn eu cynnwys: Gogledd Cymru
- Pwy fydd y buddiolwyr yn y pen draw?: Employed and self employed individuals, suffering health conditions which are affecting their ability to work effectively and living and / or working in the Convergence region of the costal area of North Wales from Prestatyn to Llanfairfechan, including St. Asaph and Denbigh in Denbighshire.
- Pa ganlyniadau allai fod i'r prosiect?: Rhyl City Strategy Community Interest Company Ltd will be the lead sponsor, with the management and delivery carried out by the Fit for Work Service team. The current team and management are exceeding the targets set by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) and meeting all the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) set in the 2 year contract. External provision is presently being spot purchased in line with the organisation’s procurement policy and covers physiotherapy, counselling, talking therapies, employment law advice and training for employers and managers. There is an Advisory Group which sits every 8 weeks and comprises representatives from Betsi Cadwalader University Health Board, Public Health Wales, the Welsh Government, The Federation of Small Business and a local GP.
- Pa allbynnau (mesurau gweithgarwch) allai fod i'r prosiect?: In line with Priority 2 Theme 2, over 24 months from April 2012 to March 2014, this project would allow us to support 989 clients with a work limiting health condition, to return to, or to stay in, work. From past experience, of the 989 clients, we anticipate 475 will have a mental health condition and around the same will have a musculoskeletal condition. We also expect that through our ‘workplace health programme’, we would train 80 individuals from local SMEs in leadership and management development, each supported by 3 hours of one to one coaching through the 10 month programme. In addition, we will support around 720 delegate places at our half day workshops designed to raise awareness of health and wellbeing at work. Topics such as: stress risk assessments, return to work interviews, supporting employees who have a mental health condition, employment law etc. will be delivered in ‘bite size’ sessions of 3 hours. Support will also be available for employers to access a range of tools to develop healthy workplace practices, including templates such as self certification forms, sickness absence monitoring forms, a stress risk assessment policy toolkit and a wellbeing policy.
- Pa ganlyniadau allai fod i'r prosiect?: •Increased job retention •Fewer individuals slipping from work to health related benefits •Greater understanding, in the workplace, of the importance of health and wellbeing •Improved health and wellbeing in the workplace •Improved leadership & management style within local SMEs •Increased productivity •Expand service into Welsh medium
- Beth fyddai effaith y prosiect?: •Reduced pressure on the cost of health related benefits •Positive effect on the local economy from more individuals remaining in work •Positive social impact upon families of those supported to remain in work •Reduced pressure on health services, such as GP appointments •Changing culture of attitudes, in the workplace, to health & wellbeing •Increased engagement of GPs in occupational health agenda (evidence of which we have already seen in the current FFWS area) •Greater numbers of the future generation engaging in economic activity by having the role model of (a) parent(s) in work •Reduced poverty in households where the individual remains in work
- Beth yw'r amcangyfrif o gost y prosiect?: £1,550,000