The Canary: The DWP is now co-working with the NHS. We should all be very worried. (Talks about IAPT and mentions PACE)

Andy

Retired committee member
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is now effectively fully co-working with the NHS to get people living with mental health issues back to work. While this has been developing for some time, the latest policy announcement has been described as part of a neoliberal “obsession”; eroding even further the fundamental role of the NHS in patient care.

The DWP and the NHS: ‘work is a health outcome’
NHS England has announced plans to roll out “mental health employment specialists” across the nation. They will work out of Individual Placement and Support (IPS) services, with the aims of:

  • Offering job finding advice.
  • Supporting patients’ job interview preparation.
  • Speaking to potential employers about a patient’s mental health.
The NHS is investing £10m in the services to begin with, which it says could support up to 20,000 people with “severe mental illness” by 2021.
https://www.thecanary.co/discovery/...g-with-the-nhs-we-should-all-be-very-worried/
 
but there will be in the future patients who miss interviews and appointments will be sanctioned the slippery slope that will eventually lead to the further dismantling of our already failing safety net . when will people decide enough is enough why should we continue to pay taxes to any government who wishes to deny or remove their responsibility to a social safety net .
 
A local "rabblerouser" (but very gently, diplomatic and subtle) and an advocate for all things complex and intermingled (ME/CFS/EDS?POTS), has taken a place on an important local NHS CCG forum and the following, IAPT, ME Services and Specialist Funding (IF) Independent Funding Requests, came up at her very first meeting.....

I was there as "public"to back her up... which meant I had 10 minutes questioning allocation-perfect!
......We had the ear of Chief Operating Officer and Chief Nurse among others.

These matter will be discussed at the CEP as the chair seemed so concerned about all manner of ME matters which were raised; it's on the agenda for the next meeting in July.

On July 1st we have a new arrangement with a small amount of Consultant Specialist ME cover in Suffolk based in Ipswich..... more of that another time!

It's the result of a 12 year campaign and it's crumbs....BUT we hope may be the basis for more and better things. http://nandsme.blogspot.com/p/the-story-so-far.html

So we may have a perfect opportunity to "square the circle"* of IAPT, ME Services and Specialist Funding all coming together at a convenient time!
*Quote-If you try to square the circle, you try to do something that is very difficult or impossible."

ME is on the Forward programmed for Health Overview & Scrutiny Norfolk & Suffolk in October....Please wish us luck and any suggestions will be gratefully received!
 
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Looks like a good article but I can't read it because that "featured articles" video on the left is too distracting - moving picture in the corner of my eye when I'm trying to read is too annoying. Can't scroll it away or turn it off, so the article will just have to go unread.
 
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