Sussex health trust helps patients get back into work (From The Argus)
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Sussex health trust helps patients get back into work
9:10am Saturday 11th February 2012 in News By Siobhan Ryan, Health Reporter
Nearly 300 people with mental health problems have been helped to find a job in Sussex following the launch of a pioneering project.
The results of the pilot scheme are considered doubly successful because they come at a tough financial time for the county.
The scheme was run by occupational therapist Becky Priest, who works for the Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.
She teamed up with the national Centre for Mental Health to try out a method called individual placement support (IPS).
She said: “IPS helps people to get straight into a job based on their interests and skills and offers continued support when they take up employment.
“Over the 12 months of the pilot the number of Sussex Partnership clients getting into paid work rose from 125 to 286 - an increase of 128% and way above our target of 200.
“We believe this is an impressive achievement, especially when set against the worst unemployment figures for 17 years.”
IPS was first developed in the United States and is now beginning to be used in the UK and across Europe.
Miss Priest's role was to be a dedicated trainer for IPS to see if this would help more people with problems get into work.
It was the first such role in the country.
Angryoldman says...
4:54pm Sat 11 Feb 12