- The
NHS and Civil Service to introduce a set of common sense
standards to provide support for anyone with a mental health
condition and help them stay in work.
- Measures
will benefit all employers in the long term – new review finds
employers are losing out on up to £42bn a year due to staff
suffering from mental health problems.
- The
Review is a key part of the PM’s commitment to tackling the
injustice of mental illness.
More than two million public sector workers are set to receive
unprecedented mental health support - the Prime Minister will
announce today.
As part of her commitment to tackle the injustice of mental
illness the Prime Minister commissioned an independent review of
mental health and employers which has found that around 300,000
people a year are leaving their jobs each year due to mental
illness – costing employers up to £43bn annually.
The Prime Minister is today confirming that NHS England and the
Civil Service – two of the country’s largest employers – will
abide by the recommendations of the report.
As a result NHS and Civil Service employees will now be
guaranteed tailored in-house mental health support. Alongside
this, NHS England and the Civil Service will:
- Introduce
a set of core and enhanced standards which will ensure employees
have the knowledge, tools and confidence to understand and look
after their own mental health – and the mental health of their
colleagues;
- Have
support in place to help prevent mental illness being caused or
worsened by work and equip those who have a mental illness to
thrive; and
- Be
held to account for delivering these standards by their relevant
regulators so that employees can have faith they are being
introduced effectively.
Prime Minister said:
“I have made it a priority of this government to tackle the
injustice of mental illness.
“Vital to this is the need to have a comprehensive
cross-government plan which transforms how we deal with mental
illness not only in our hospitals or crisis centres but in our
classrooms, shop floors and communities.
“That’s why I commissioned this important review which starkly
illustrates the cost of untreated mental illness - around 300,000
people with a long term mental health problem are losing their
jobs each year.
“And that has a big impact on businesses which are losing up to
£43bn each year as a result.
“So we need to take action. That’s why I am immediately asking
NHS England and the Civil Service – which together employ more
than two million people – to accept the recommendations that
apply to them.
“With so many of our leading businesses leading the way in this
area – and reaping the rewards as a result – I am sure that the
private sector will follow suit.
“It is only by making this an everyday concern for everyone that
we change the way we see mental illness so that striving to
improve your mental health – whether at work or at home – is seen
as just as positive as improving our physical wellbeing.”
The report from Lord Dennis Stevenson, a long-time campaigner for
greater understanding and treatment of mental illness, and Paul
Farmer CEO of Mind and chair of the NHS Mental Health Taskforce
includes 40 recommendations for the public and private sector.
The Prime Minister is today writing to all Metro Mayors and key
business groups including the CBI, IoD and Federation of Small
Businesses to draw attention to the review and encourage them to
implement the recommendations in their organisations and across
their networks.
The government will consider the wider recommendations and
respond in due course.
