COVID-19 Support
Support & Resources
Due to the unprecedented nature of measures being taken by the Government in response to Covid-19, there are many new and developing implications for IPS Services. We have produced this page to support IPS services which are still operating, as they consider the implications, and explore adjustments that will enable them to continue to support clients, work effectively as part of clinical teams, and maintain links with the wider community. We will be adding to and updating this post as new information and resources become available, so please do check back regularly.
It is important to note that whilst we have produced this guidance, we recognise that each IPS Service will have different levels of involvement in their Mental Health Trusts response to COVID-19, and some of these activities and suggested ways of working may not be possible. The following information is provided as suggested guidance only. We would encourage you to review your organisations policies and protocols in the first instance.
For the latest information about the coronavirus, the World Health Organisation (WHO), the UK Government, Public Health England and the NHS are regularly reporting on the guidance and updates relating to coronavirus.
What does it mean for IPS Services?
As we all know COVID-19 will have a significant impact, not only on the mental and physical health of your service users, but also their employment status and job prospects.
IPS and their host mental health services have an immediate and important role to play in providing reassurance to clients and employers, supporting people with their mental health, helping people to sustain and retain their jobs wherever possible and continuing to help clients find paid work in industries with high demand for workers, such as healthcare, grocery retail, technology, cleaning, and warehousing and delivery. We are already hearing about many success stories from a number of IPS Services across the country who are still successfully supporting people into paid jobs.
It is also worth remembering that once we recover from the virus, IPS services will be instrumental in supporting a return to normality through economic and mental health recovery. Many thousands will be out of work, and will need support to find and retain employment.
IPS Grow remains committed to supporting the IPS community. Although there may be some limitations around visits and hands-on support that we can offer in the short-term. We are still very much available to provide practical coaching and support to team leaders and ES virtually. We will also continue to develop tools and virtual workshops to support services and will be providing on-line communities of practice in the coming weeks.
NHS England & Improvement held a webinar/Q&A session specifically for IPS providers, commissioners, and other stakeholders to discuss the impact on IPS services.
Please let us know if you have any ideas about how we can support you, or have some good practice or good news we can share with services. Your feedback and stories are very much appreciated and needed at this time. Regularly check the IPS Workspace on the NHS Collaboration Platform as a means of communication with the IPS community, and contact your IPS Grow Lead for any specific ideas/needs.
“When the situation changed at the beginning of the week, Caroline contacted her employer contacts to see if they would be willing to donate items to help our clients who are going into self- isolation. Three companies immediately got behind this initiative and agreed to donate a range of items including wool, arts and crafts equipment, mindfulness colouring books etc. These will be collected and delivered (safely) to clients who will really benefit.”
Tees, Esk and Wear Valley’s NHS FT
IPS service delivery in the context of Covid-19
NHS England & Improvement Webinar Recording
#1 Adapting your approach
For IPS Services (and everyone) the current climate is changing the way we operate with clients, clinical teams and employers on a daily basis.
Services are telling us that their priorities are now:
- Working with clinical teams to support clients who are very anxious about the virus and its impact, and advising around social distancing strategies.
- Focusing on keeping those in work going and supporting any benefits issues if people are stepping out of jobs or are going on sick leave, or are at risk of losing their job.
- It offers an opportunity to focus on spending more time on vocational profiling, helping people to choose the right jobs and employers to approach now or in the future.
- Identifying and understanding expanding industries eg online work, such as healthcare, grocery retail, technology, cleaning, and warehousing and delivery
- Most services are still taking referrals and still getting people jobs! We also have new IPS services still moving ahead with their mobilisation plans.
- Many teams are now moving to remote working – this also includes many clinical teams.
- In some instances, IPS services staff have been re-deployed into other roles eg NHS recruitment. Whilst doing this some services are still splitting their time between their IPS caseload and other roles.
How you provide IPS support, and the support you offer will change, but as always, remain positive, proactive and recovery focused.
We Work Well Training
Free training for staff to help manage the anxiety and stress associated with the pandemic
Employment Advice in IAPT
Support and guidance to manage different employment situations during COVID-19 pandemic
COVID-19 Principles
An infographic to demonstrate some working from home principles during COVID-19
Return to work
Guidance document for support job retention cases: return to work form
#2 Home Working
Remote working will be an adjustment for everyone. It will be important to have a clear plan around:
- Helping staff plan how they will work at home eg start and finish times, and adjusting roles
- Making sure staff have the right tools and resources to do their work eg laptops, ergonomic work stations etc
- How will clinical risk and safety policies will be followed eg can your staff enter clinical notes remotely, if not how will this be addressed eg some services are emailing notes to admin staff, and ensuring that any urgent clinical issues are raise with the clinical team immediately
- How will information governance processes be addressed remotely
- How will the ES stay in contact with the clinical teams to ensure referral levels and joint work remains in place with clinical teams and IPS colleagues
- Communication and teamwork – it will be important to organise regular virtual meetings, some teams have found regular informal check-in meetings to maintain morale are very helpful, or are putting buddy systems in place.
For those about to start homeworking – Top Tips include:
- Set up a “normal” daily routine, making sure you take regular breaks, build in some exercise and have a clear start and finish times
- Create an appropriate working environment
- Stay Connected with IPS colleagues and your clinical team
- Plan your days with clear daily and weekly to-do lists
- Have a plan for other members of the household eg school-age kids
Some useful resources to support you with remote working during this time include:
ACAS
Home working tips
Home Working Resources
NHS Wellbeing Support
Wellness Guide
#3 Virtual Meetings
Although some services may have already been utilising technology to conduct some meetings this may be a newer concept for both employment specialists and clients. Some tips around virtual meetings include:
- Conduct the meeting as if it was face to face – the same planning, structure and content should be required
- Use active listening skills
- Smile
- Utilise technology to meet the needs of the client and the meeting you are having
- Focus on the meeting (limit external distractions (you wouldn’t sit with your mobile phone on the table during a meeting), encourage your client to do the same)
Leading virtual meetings
Guidance document around etiquette for virtual meetings
Video Meeting Tips
Guidance and tips for video meetings
Video Conference Guide
Video conferencing guidance shared by CNWL
Use of video conferencing
The use of video conferencing with patients with psychosis: a review of the literature
A practical guide
A Practical Guide to Video Mental Health Consultation
IRCM Guidance
Institute for Registered Case Managers (IRCM) COVID19 Guidance
#4 Technology
Remote working is an emerging marketplace and there are a range of free tools, resources, and apps you can download to support you during this time. Please liaise with your internal IT departments who will be best positioned to advise you, however, below are a list of our suggestions:
- Skype
- Zoom
- WhatsApp Business
- Messenger
- Microsoft teams
- SharePoint
- Video call
#5 Employer Engagement
It will be important to keep this high on the agenda. Much can be achieved via telephone and conference calls. In addition many employers are now introducing a range of technology to support their recruitment processes.
As always, those that are most successful adapt their approach to meet the needs of the employer they are contacting.
Now more than ever it will be important to keep up to date with the changing labour market and share this knowledge with IPS colleagues and clients. Make sure you have a clear pitch when approaching employers, and take time to understand their needs, and have the right letters / CVs ready to send to employers after your call, with follow up actions agreed.
#6 Utilising your time
During this period of change there may be times when caseloads are lower than normal and/or clients may be less engaged. There are still lots of ways you can be effective:
Supporting clients
- For those who are at work it will be important to develop active follow along support plans with clients and employers with regular check-ins
- It will be important to ensure that clients can access up to date benefits advice if they are moving in and out of employment
- It will be important that we support clients in managing anxieties about working in the current climate and how they can be over-come any additional barriers
- Explore assertive engagement methods for those clients who are not engaging eg a joint call with the client and their care co-ordinator, or a family member
- Spend time fully exploring employment goals and labour marker research
- Have regular check in calls with all clients and employers
- Review client CVs
- Review client progress to date
- Create updated action plans
- Stay on top of administration tasks
- Check in with your peers and collleagues
- Complete labour market research in relation to job areas your clients are looking for to ensure that you and your client are fully informed about the best way to get work in the area
Clinical integration
- It will be important to develop protocols to enable you to still feel fully integrated into your clinical team eg virtual meetings, contact with clinical staff to generate referrals and joint work
- Ensuring you can update clinical notes via remote access or other strategies agreed locally
- Ensuring there are clear protocols / lines of communication if you are concerned about the health of any of the client’s on your caseload
Partnership
- Now more than ever it will be important to stay in contact with key local agencies – local authorities, JCP, employer organisations, who can all help in understanding current local employment opportunities.
Service developments and training
If there is any capacity within the service, now may be a good time to:
- Review service literature and paperwork
- Professional development opportunities (eg complete IPS Grow free e-Learning, talk to your IPS Grow lead about virtual workshops)
- Start a fidelity evidence folder
- Self-audit against the fidelity scale
- Case conferencing with other Employment Specialists
- Research relevant guidance regarding employment and C-19
- Create client recovery stories
- Create personal/service action plans
- Review service practice around key areas eg vocational profiling, employer engagement, follow along support etc
#7 The role of Supervisor and Manager
The role of the IPS supervisor has never been more important, the support you provide to your staff is critical to the on-going success of the national expansion for IPS Services.
Although you may not be able to physically meet with your team, we would encourage you to increase your level of support and supervision.
As well as supporting the individual Employment Specialists this is also an opportune time to strengthen your links with the DWP and clinical teams.
Top Tips:
- Weekly supervisions
- Daily catch-ups
- Group supervisors via teleconference
- Client audits
- Internal fidelity assessments
- Review service processes and procedures
- Consider implications of current climate on performance against targets
- Produce service action/development/contingency plans
Sharing Success
Now, more than ever it is vitally important that we share our successes with both clients and the clinical team and throughout the IPS Community.
We have already heard of some fantastic work and would encourage you to continue to be a positive force within your team and tell others about the successes that are being achieved daily during this difficult time.
FAQ and Operational Advice
We have produced an FAQ document to support services, as they consider the implications and look for adjustments to continue to support the clinical teams, their clients and the wider community. We will be adding to and updating this post as new information and resources become available, so please do check back regularly.
FAQsOperational AdviceMental Health Wellbeing
It’s important to look after your own mental health and wellbeing during this time too. If you are feeling anxious or worried about coronavirus, some great resources have been put together by various organisations which you can adapt for both professional and personal guidance. These resources suggest some simple things you can do to look after your mental health and wellbeing at this time. It includes plans for staying at home if you need to self isolate, managing hand washing and anxiety and how to keep up to date with the latest news whilst looking after your own mental health.
MindMental Health FoundationResearch and Resources
The Full Monty
Facing up to the challenge of the coronavirus labour market crisis - Resolution Foundation
ACAS
An array of advice for employers and employees including, working safely, holiday and leave, sick pay for self-isolation and mental health.
Supporting Mental Health of Employees During and Beyond COVID-19
A toolkit designed to help business leaders and managers anticipate and take actions that effectively support employees’ mental health during COVID-19 and beyond - AXA
Learning Log
On the IPS Workspace we have added a document to capture the national and international learning from IPS services around how they are responding to COVID-19.
