COMPANY NEWS
Employers must do more on mental health
More work is needed to overcome barriers to employment for people with mental health conditions, a new briefing from the Centre for Mental Health has urged.
The report looks at what interventions work, where gaps exist in the system, and how good practice can be extended across the country. It criticises some of the current models provided, including the Work Programme, as “ineffective” and calls for commissioners, GPs and employers to work together to make support into employment a priority.
People with mental health
problems are much less likely to be in paid employment than those without, and people who are unemployed for at least six months are more likely to develop depression.
The Centre for Mental Health points to the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) programme as having “overwhelming evidence of success”.
Jan Hutchinson, director of programmes at the Centre for Mental Health said: “Employment is an important part of life, not least because it is good for our physical and mental health. And so it is vital that anyone who wants
to work gets support in doing so, no matter what their circumstance or how ‘job ready’ clinical staff think they are.
“As this briefing shows, there are still numerous barriers
to
employment – especially for those with mental illness. And so we encourage local authorities to link up with GPs, CCGs and local services to provide a network of support for those who need it. Raising the emp loymen t rate of people
with mental health problems to a level somewhere near that of the general population is something we should be aiming for. And by using examples of best practice including the IPS model, we can begin to look at how best to support our workforce both into and in work.”
Changes to Socitm’s applications register for public sector IT speed up process
The register of software and services on offer to local public sector organisations run by Socitm will no longer need customer verification before updates are published by IT
suppliers.
Socitm, the society of public sector IT managers, says the old process caused too many delays, and from now on IT suppliers can update information about their products and services automatically.
Socitm said: “To ensure that appropriate checks and balances are in place around this new development, supplier updates will be marked ‘unverified’
until customers have checked the changes.
“Local authorities and other public service organisations may challenge updates published by suppliers on the Applications Register if they believe the information to be incorrect.”
The register is used by buyers and suppliers of public sector IT services, listing:
• IT products and services in use in local public services across the UK
• Sector spend on software, hardware and services
• Products and suppliers in each category (eg, planning, workflow, web etc)
• Buyer ratings of products and suppliers
• Product acquisition and renewal dates
Public sector customers can rate products and services based on their functionality, reliability, integration services, technical support, after-sales and communication.
More information on the changes is available on the Socitm website.
New workflow system for Edinburgh
Edinburgh council is consolidating its city asset and workflow systems to save more than £1m over five years.
The council, which employs more than 15,000 people serving half a million residents, said its old systems were ‘patchwork’ and outdated.
The new environment asset and works order management system will use Pitney Bowes’ Confirm OnDemand software to deliver
more proactive, real-time public services.
Edel McManus, business improvement and performance manager at City of Edinburgh Council, said: “We are trying to introduce a more planned and coordinated approach to the management of our city’s assets, tailored to each neighbourhood, ensuring improved productivity, efficiency and service delivery. Key to this will be the ability for both staff and customers to easily
access a single system containing all our asset information, resources and services.”
The systems and processes of the council’s
Waste Services,
Open Space Maintenance, Parks and Green Spaces and Transport departments are being consolidated as part of the project, providing a central repository of information and replacing paper- driven workflow systems.
The city’s citizens can also make public sector executive Sep/Oct 13 | 15
service requests and track their status in real-time using a new smartphone application.
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