According to IPS Grow, which supports IPS teams across England, 70-90% of people with mental health issues want to work – but only 37% have paid jobs and for those with severe mental illness, the figure is just 8%.
Vicky Vacara, IPS service manager for Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust, said they had helped 115 people get new jobs last year.
“There will be some people who have been led to believe that they will never work because of their mental health condition,” she said.
Despite many employers feeling the financial pinch when it comes to taking on new employees, Vicky said they wanted to work with more firms.
“Evidence suggests that having a diverse workforce can really bring improved outcomes for organisations, and I think people with mental health problems can bring some real strengths to the team, and I would be saying that there are already lots of people with mental health problems in your team, you just don’t know about it,” she said.
Laura said they helped employers make reasonable adjustments to employees’ working patterns.
“The key is in the word ‘reasonable’,” she said. “Sometimes medication may affect people in the mornings, so they may have to start an hour later, but that’s OK, they can work an hour later as well.”