Commission an IPS service
Why commission IPS?
Employment can be key to recovery
Unemployment is strongly linked to the development of mental health problems. Suitable work can be good for people’s health. While 93% of people who use mental health services are unemployed, most want to work and see working as key to their recovery.
Employment reduces use of other health services
Returning to employment has been shown to reduce health service usage, with fewer days spent in hospital and reduced rates of readmission. For people with severe mental illness, the saving is estimated at around £6,000 per person.
IPS works
Compared with traditional support, IPS has been proven in numerous studies to help more people with severe mental illness back into work more quickly. On average, people receiving IPS keep their jobs longer, earn more, and spend less time in hospital. That’s why NICE recommends mental health services to provide IPS to their users.
Commissioning IPS
Are you commissioning an IPS service?
The following tools and guidance materials are intended for CCG and Local Authority commissioners, but will also be of use to providers of mental health services, third sector and other organisations.
These documents provide guidance for commissioners of mental health and employment services across primary and secondary mental health care. They also include a set of practical tools for how to commission a high-quality service, such as a model service specification and financial model template. All these tools require modification and adaptation to fit local need and comply with local requirements.