A new paper to emerge from the UK College of Occupational Therapists has described the UK as having reached a "critical point" in regards to its aging population and increasing population with mental illness.

We need to develop a vocational rehabilitation workforce that is capable of delivering evidence-based services and we need to find the resources to invest in changing the system,” the paper, “

Vocational rehabilitation: what is it, who can deliver it and who pays ” states.

Vocational rehabilitation is defined as “whatever helps someone with a health problem to stay at, return to and remain in work. It is an approach rather than a particular intervention,” (Waddell, Burton, Kendall, 2008).

“There is now broad agreement about the key principles of vocational rehabilitation,” the paper states, “including: the need to intervene early to prevent people from losing their jobs when they could be helped back to work; the need for good quality case management for those who need professional support; and the importance of a ‘bio-psycho-social’ approach, that considers all of a person’s needs for getting or keeping work.”

The cost to employers of mental health problems among workers, including presenteeism, reduced productivity in general and replacing staff, is estimated to be ₤26 billion a year.

The paper lists the following as things that will “keep people at work”: 

• recognition by employers that work is on the whole very good for mental health, as it is for physical health
• prevention of mental health problems which are directly work-related (accounting for around 15 per cent of total costs). This may include providing mentally healthy working conditions and practices in line with the Health and Safety Executive’s management standards on work-related stress (HSE, 2007)
• training for line managers, to increase their knowledge and understanding of mental health issues, raise awareness of unthinking discrimination and improve their ability to respond confidently and in a timely fashion to employees in distress
• better access to help, particularly access to evidence-based psychological therapies, which wherever possible enable people to carry on working at the same time as receiving support
• flexible working: some people may need to take time off work or not work traditional hours
• regular contact with the employee during periods of absence, to maintain continuity of workplace relationships and prepare the ground for their return to work
• case management support for those not recovering as expected.

Mental health problems in the UK are the largest and fastest growing cause of long-term incapacity, the paper explains. Return to work approaches need to be accommodating and non-discriminating, and intervention needs to be early so that workers are supported as much as possible to remain in work.

To read the full paper click here.