Download CONDITION MANAGEMENT PROGRAMME

CONDITION MANAGEMENT PROGRAMME
Initial findings
Aims
The Condition Management Programme (CMP) is a new health provision
under the Government’s Incapacity Benefit Reforms and was established in
2004 as a result of the Green Paper “Pathways to Work: Helping People into
employment.
Research has shown that the longer an individual is away from work, the less
likely they are to return. In the early stages of an IB claim, 90% of individuals
expect to return to work. However, 40% do not return and still claim benefit
12mths later, and only one in five will return to work. The longer an individual
is away from work, the more their physical and mental health declines,
through isolation, social exclusion and changing health behaviours. This is a
complex process and evidence shows the slide into psychological
disengagement with work and other social roles can be arrested and reversed
if individuals are helped to understand their condition and develop strategies
to regain control of their lives.
Methods Used
The philosophy of the CMP is on the prevention and management of ill health
and re-focuses incapacity on capacity. The service covers moderate mental
health, musculoskeletal and circulatory/respiratory conditions.
The CMP is being delivered in communities across the district by a team of
dedicated NHS practitioners. The CMP is meeting a previously unmet need in
joining up work and health for the first time for the benefit of clients. It is an
innovative approach to improving health and ability to work. In the past,
healthcare has been almost exclusively about the treatment of illnesses, both
physical and mental. In this programme, the focus is on an individual’s health,
not the treatment of illness.
Results and Discussion
Many CMP clients have reported positive outcomes and many have returned
to work. The service is helping to transform the public perception of disability
and ill health in relation to work. Links have been developed with Jobcentre
Plus, primary care, secondary care and the voluntary sector so that there is a
whole systems approach to supporting claimants of Incapacity Benefit.
Conclusion
The CMP is a new innovative, voluntary, service which has been positively
impacting on the lives of some of the most socially disadvantaged individuals
in our communities. Close working relationships have been developed
between traditionally separate organisations for the benefit of the client.
Contact: Martine Randall – Project Manager, RCT tLHB
[email protected]