The Government has announced a new £64m pilot programme called WorkWell to assist individuals with long-term health issues rejoin the workforce.
Set to be rolled out across 15 areas of England in October, the pilots aim to connect 59,000 people with health conditions to local support services, such as physiotherapy and counselling, to help them stay or return to work.
Work and Pensions Secretary, Mel Stride MP, said: ‘Too many today are falling out of work in a spiral of sickness that harms their finances, their prospects and ultimately their health, where with the right workplace adjustments and help, this needn’t be the case.’
Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said: ‘It is fantastic that 15 ICSs [integrated care systems] can now start to get their WorkWell plans off the ground to provide more intensive, early-intervention support to their populations.’
The pilot areas include Birmingham, Solihull, Cambridgeshire, Greater Manchester, Leicester, parts of north London and South Yorkshire.
