What is Working Health Services Scotland?

Working Health Services Scotland (WHSS) is a new NHS service that aims to assist employees of small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to remain in or return to work quickly after a period of absence. SMEs are companies or organisations with less than 250 employees, and most SMEs do not provide access to occupational health services or employee assistance programmes.

Who can refer to Working Health Service Scotland?

• You can self-refer – call 0800 019 2211
• GP
• Other health professionals
• Partner organisations, JCP, Remploy, Housing and Social Work etc

How does the service operate?

• Call 0800 019 2211
• A telephone interviewer will ask you some questions about yourself, your work and your health condition. This information will be passed to an NHS Case Manager.
• You will be contacted by a Case Manager within 2 working days of your referral.
• Your Case Manager will conduct an initial assessment of your condition and work with you to design and agree a personal action plan for you.
• Depending on your condition, you and your Case Manager will decide the best course of action. You may be referred to physiotherapy services, occupational therapy, counselling or to one of a range of services available in your Health Board area.
• Throughout your programme of treatment your Case Manager will be in regular contact with you to monitor and review your progress.If you are still at work your Case manager will assist to you remain at work.
• If you are absent from work your Case Manager will discuss plans how you can be helped to return to work.
• Whether you are at work or absent from work the programme may last 2-12 weeks depending on your needs, and on completion of the programme, the case manager will make contact to review progress and discuss staying at work or return to work plans.

Background information

In 2007 Dame Carol Black published ‘Working for a healthier tomorrow’ (PDF) which was a review of the health of Britain’s working age population.

Dame Carol Black’s Review estimated the costs to the economy of working age ill health in terms of working days lost and worklessness in Great Britain are over £100 billion each year.

In 2008 the UK Government responded with ‘Improving health and work: changing lives’ (external link). In this document the UK Government committed to developing and piloting a Fit for Work Service (FFWS) in a number of locations across Great Britain from 2009.

In 2008 the Scottish Government granted funding for a pilot vocational rehabilitation project based in Dundee for 24 months. Due to the success of this project, after 12 months the Scottish Government gave funding for another two Working Health Service projects based in NHS Lothian and NHS Borders. These three projects consist of multi-disciplinary teams and use a case management approach.

Based on this successful approach the Fit for Work Service in Scotland was named Working Health Services Scotland (WHSS). The WHSS introduced in 2009 is configured to support over 3,500 individuals across Scotland, maintain work or return to work, following a period of ill health or sickness absence, and is committed to promoting a culture that recognises and supports the fact that for most people work is good for health and returning to work at the appropriate time is part of the recovery process.

The service is expected to compliment the forthcoming introduction of the “Fit Note” in April 2010.

The programme will be based on telephone case managed multidisciplinary support for the employees’ recovery, providing help and advice on a range of healthcare, employment, skills, housing and personal issues for example, debt management, ensuring access to the most appropriate forms of support for the individual.

WHSS is a Scotland wide pilot funded by Scottish Government and Department of Work and Pensions and will operate until March 2011.

Participating Health Boards

• NHS Ayrshire and Arran - 01292 660830
• NHS Borders
• NHS Dumfries and Galloway - 01387 272742
• NHS Fife - 01382 346030
• NHS Forth Valley - 01698 456271
• NHS Grampian - 01224 555863
• NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde - 0141 249 4037(Glasgow); 0141 887 3129 (Clyde Coast)
• NHS Highland - 01463 706889
• NHS Lothian
• NHS Lanarkshire - 01698 456271
• NHS Orkney - 01856 879803
• NHS Shetland - 01595 743230
• NHS Tayside
• NHS Western Isles - 01851 708037

Resources

• Download the WHSS poster
• Download the WHSS leaflet