Researchers at Imperial College London are spearheading a national pilot aimed at revolutionizing the way we approach work and health. With soaring levels of economic inactivity due to ill health in the UK, the team at The Self-Care Academic Research Unit has joined forces with occupational health clinicians and experts from the Department for Work and Pensions. Together, they are implementing a pioneering study that embeds job centre work coaches and disability employment advisors within GP surgeries. Dr Lara Shemtob, Academic Clinical Fellow in General Practice and Occupational Health Physician at Imperial College London writes more about this exciting initiative, the EMBED study, below.
Researchers at Imperial College London are working on a solution to the high levels of economic inactivity due to ill health in the UK. Together, with occupational health clinicians and a team at the Department for Work and Pensions, researchers at The Self-Care Academic Research Unit (SCARU) are delivering and evaluating a pilot study that places job centre work coaches and disability employment advisors in GP surgeries, where people’s work and health needs can be addressed together.
‘This project represents a watershed for work and health in the UK, and a first step to universal access to occupational health.’ - Dr Shriti Pattani, National Expert in Occupational Health & Wellbeing and Honorary Senior Lecturer, Imperial College, London
This topic is high on the policy agenda as levels of economic inactivity due to ill health continue to rise. The challenge of helping people work through ill health will only get more prevalent as the population ages. This could have significant consequences on public sector services in the next future with less people contributing to government revenues through work, and instead becoming more reliant on state support.