The Government has called on employers to take action to improve the mental health of people in their organisations. The call comes as organisational change and re-structuring across the public sector has caused a 50 per cent increase in stress-related absence.
Mental ill-health, such as depression and anxiety, costs over £1000 per employee every year, or almost £30 billion across the UK economy. The wider economic costs of mental illness in England have been estimated at £105.2 billion each year. This includes direct costs of services, lost productivity at work and reduced quality of life.
Right now, one worker in six has a mental health problem – almost 5 million of Britain’s 29 million workers. To improve the health of employees and reduce unnecessary costs in lost productivity, managers and colleagues can all make a difference.
Organisations are urged to sign up to the Time to Change campaign to end mental health discrimination. This would demonstrate a public commitment from the top of the organisation to the bottom, send a strong message to employees, and get expert support from Time to Change in dealing with mental health issues at work.
It is also important that organisations have an employee trained in mental ill health, as is the case with first aid. Appointing someone as a mental health expert or training a number of people in awareness would make a huge difference. Training is available from a variety of organisations.
Rising stress levels in the public sector result from a combination of cuts to jobs, pension benefits and pay freezes which all bring pressures that staff are finding difficult to cope with. Job insecurity is a major cause of work-related stress and a recent survey revealed that 24 per cent of respondents said it was affecting them. This figure has risen from 10 per cent last year.
How mental health will be treated the same as other health problems
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Care Services Minister Paul Burstow will today call upon employers to take three simple steps to improve the mental health of their staff, and will issue a call to everyone in society to play their part in reducing stigma.
Mental ill-health, such as depression and anxiety, costs British businesses over £1000 per employee every year, or almost £30 billion across theUKeconomy. This is mostly in lost production through staff being off work or underperforming at work. The wider economic costs of mental illness inEnglandhave been estimated at £105.2 billion each year. This includes direct costs of services, lost productivity at work and reduced quality of life.
Right now, one worker in six has a mental health problem – almost 5 million of Britain’s 29 million workers. To improve the health of employees and reduce unnecessary costs to businesses in lost productivity, managers and colleagues can all make a difference with these three simple steps:
1) Make this year the Time to Change: Sign your company up to the Time to Change campaign to end mental health discrimination. By signing up, you make a public commitment from the top of the organisation to the bottom, send a strong message to employees, and get expert support from Time to Change in dealing with mental health issues at work.
2) Get some ‘First Aid’ training in mental health: Most companies have an employee trained in first aid. But mental ill health is the most prevalent cause of illness among people of working age. Appointing someone as a mental health expert or training a number of people in awareness would make a huge difference. Training is available from a variety of organisations.
3) Call for help: the Health for Work Adviceline in England can be accessed on 0800 0 77 88 44 and www.health4work.nhs.uk. It is designed to support employers and employees in small and medium sized businesses, by providing free-to-use early and easy access to professional occupational health and well-being advice to help employees remain in or return to work after a period of ill health.
A 2010 survey found that 72% of workplaces still had no formal mental health policy, and 23% of managers were unable to name a single mental health condition. By following these simple tips, and making information available to employees, managers can take steps to support their team.
BT has reported that its mental wellbeing strategy has led to a reduction of 30% in mental health-related sickness absence, and a return to work rate of 75% for people absent for more than six months.
The call to action comes as the Deputy Prime Minister and Care Services Minister set out plans for improving mental health and stigma aimed for the first time at employers, schools, local councils, housing organisations and voluntary groups as well as more traditional organisations in the health and care sector.
Five of theUK’s five leading mental health organisations – Mind, Rethink Mental Illness, Turning Point, Centre for Mental Health and the NHS Confederation’s Mental Health Network – have worked in partnership with the government to draw up the plans.
Speaking today at a reception to launch the plans which will bring together front line mental health workers, charities, organisations and academics working to improve the nation’s mental health, Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg will say:
“Today I am calling on every employer large and small to do a mental health stock take. Too many people suffer in silence with mental health issues. Employers are well placed to recognise warning signs and signpost their staff to support.
“70 million working days are lost as a result of mental health issues every year, costing business £1000 every year for each employee. Managing mental health at work well can save around 30 per cent of these costs – businesses cannot afford not to take mental health seriously.
“Companies such as BT, E.On, Deloitte and EDF Energy are already doing fantastic work to support their teams.
“These three simple steps give all employers the support to look after their staff’s mental health and keepBritainworking. “
The ‘Implementation Framework’ sets out what employers, schools, businesses, local councils, housing organisations, voluntary groups and health and care organisations can do to promote good mental health, whether it be NHS clinical commissioning groups appointing mental health leads, schools developing awareness programmes to help staff recognise pupils at risk, or employers supporting the mental health of their workforce.
Care Services Minister, Paul Burstow said:
“Mental health is everyone’s business. It is fundamental to all aspects of life – our physical health, our work, our relationships and to achieving our potential. The impact of poor mental health can be devastating for individuals and their families and also has a major impact across the economy.
“If we are to improve the nation’s wellbeing organisations from across society need to act as catalysts for change in their communities. This framework provides the practical guidance to help make this happen and I am delighted with the support it has from across the mental health sector who have worked so hard on producing this with us.”
The ‘No Health Without Mental Health’ strategy outlined a new emphasis on early intervention and prevention, extending personalised support to 3.2 million people across the country.
The Government has boosted funding for talking therapies by £400m over the next four years to ensure that modern, evidence-based therapies are available to all who need them through the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme.
An extra £22 million for a pioneering programme to give children with mental health problems access to the best available services was announced by the Deputy Prime Minister in February this year.
£16 million of government funding was also committed for the longstanding Time to Change campaign to tackle mental health stigma and discrimination.
The Coalition is clear that mental health must be treated as seriously as physical health, and has already enshrined this in law in the Health and Social Care Act 2012. The plans published today will help the NHS put this principle into practice in the reformed health system.
The framework is supported by the NHS Commissioning Board and Public Health England, and sets out how mental health will be embedded in the reformed health and care system.
Progress will be measured via a new Mental Health Dashboard. This will bring together the most relevant measures from the three Outcomes Frameworks and elsewhere, and map them against the aims of the Government’s Mental Health Strategy.
Paul Jenkins, CEO of the charity Rethink Mental Illness said:
“This is such a valuable piece of work because it takes the overall aims and ambitions outlined in the mental health strategy and translates them into workable, practical actions for the front line. This implementation plan will help ensure that the Strategy is not simply a list of aspirations, but is followed through with concrete changes, which will directly improve the lives of people affected by mental illness.”
Organisational change and re-structuring across the public sector has resulted in a 50 per cent increase in stress-related absence. Job insecurity is a major contributory cause of stress.
Rising stress levels is a major finding from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development Simplyhealth Absence Management survey. The survey found that a combination of cuts to jobs, pension benefits and pay freezes bring pressures which staff are finding difficult to cope with.
Job insecurity is a major cause of work-related stress with 24 per cent of respondents saying it is affecting them. This figure has risen from 10 per cent last year.
More than 43 per cent of organisations report they will be making redundancies over the next six months. This compares with 17 per cent in the private sector and 24 per cent of non-profits.
Dr Jill Miller, CIPD Adviser, said: “Stress is a particular challenge in the public sector where the sheer amount of major change and restructuring would appear to be the root cause. To a large degree, managing stress is about effective leadership and people management, particularly during periods of major change and uncertainty.
“Line managers need to focus on regaining the trust of their employees and openly communicating throughout the change process to avoid unnecessary stress and potential absences. They also need to be able to spot the early signs of people being under excessive pressure or having difficulty coping at work and to provide appropriate support.”
Sean Duggan, chief executive of Centre for Mental Health:
“The mental health strategy points to a clear need for a shift towards intervening early when people first experience mental ill health, for action to reduce inequalities in physical and mental health and for support to those with mental health conditions to achieve recovery on their own terms. The framework gives organisations across the country a clear message about where to start in making the major changes we need to see to improve the life chances of people facing and living with mental ill health.”
Paul Farmer, Chief Executive of the mental health charity Mind, said:
“The Health and Social Care Act has enshrined in law the duty to give mental health a fair deal, and grant it the same importance as physical health. Given the tough economic climate we know that now more than ever people need support to look after their mental health; last year calls to Mind’s Infoline increased by 18 per cent and our local Minds helped over 250,000 people.
“We are delighted to see the launch of the Mental Health Implementation Framework, which we have all worked hard on to co-produce. Last year’s mental health strategy was very welcome and we look forward to using the implementation framework and working with a range of organisations to ensure that it is brought to life.”
Lord Victor Adebowale, Chief Executive of Turning Point said:
“This framework shows what we can do when we work together. Mental health affects everyone and everyone has a part to play in ensuring co-production doesn’t stop with the publication of the framework. I hope that organisations, communities and individuals use the framework’s recommendations to improve support for people affected by mental health and associated complex needs, and to deliver real change on the ground, in our schools, workplaces and health service.”
Paddy Cooney, Interim Director of the NHS Confederation’s Mental Health Network, said:
“Mental ill health affects everybody, which is why the only way to make improvements in mental health services is to involve everybody who will play a part in delivering the radical step-change required. We are proud that the NHS Confederation’s Mental Health Network has been central in developing this Implementation Framework, which helps define the route we should be taking, step-by-step, to improve mental health services, including providing the best quality care for all individuals who are touched by mental ill health.
“The dashboard will give mental health service providers an at-a-glance guide to the progress they are making along the route of improvement. The Mental Health Network will be working closely with the Department of Health to ensure the dashboard’s measures give maximum help to service providers and help them make improvements which are important to service users.”
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For further information please contact the Department of Health press office on 020 7210 5317