Individual Placement Support

By 2023/24, NHS England and NHS Improvement aims to help tens of thousands of people with severe mental illness (SMI) find and keep their employment through the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) scheme. The COVID-19 pandemic forced IPS teams across the country to adapt their services quickly to keep providing employment support in a safe way, but it also provided opportunities for teams to support their clients to secure jobs as key workers during the pandemic.

IPS supports people with severe mental health difficulties into employment. It involves intensive, individual support, a rapid job search followed by placement in paid employment, and time-unlimited in-work support for both the employee and the employer.

NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care works in partnership with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority to improve employment services for people with learning disabilities and autistic adults and individual placement and support for people who have a severe mental health difficulties. The IPS model in Greater Manchester follows closely to the eight principles outlined below:

  1. It aims to get people into competitive employment
  2.  It is open to all those who want to work
  3. It tries to find jobs consistent with people’s preferences
  4. It works quickly
  5. It brings employment specialists into clinical teams
  6. Employment specialists develop relationships with employers based upon a person’s work preferences
  7. It provides time unlimited, individualised support for the person and their employer
  8. Benefits counselling is included.