A GOVERNMENT pilot project to help sick people in some of Wales’ most deprived areas back into work is to be extended.
The Fit for Work service, funded by the Department for Work and Pensions, was launched in Rhyl last year along with 10 other pilot areas across England and Scotland.
The first of its kind in Wales, the service which is used by people throughout Conwy and Denbighshire, provides support for debt, relationship or housing problems to employees at risk of spending long periods away from work with health problems.
Now the service has been extended until 2013 as part of a £12 million Government funding pledge, announced by Minister for Welfare Reform Lord Freud.
The service has proven highly successful in providing support to help sick employees stay in work or return more quickly and was one of the initiatives put forward in Dame Carol Black’s 2008 report Working for a Healthier Tomorrow, which put the cost of ill health to the economy at £100 billion a year.
The £12million funding package will also ensure the continuation of the occupational health advice services across England, Scotland and Wales, which are used by 200 small businesses a month to gain further advice and understanding of their employees’ health and other well-being needs.
Ali Thomas, project manager with Rhyl City Strategy, which helps run the service, said: “We ensure that employed people in the early stages of sickness absence are helped back into work more quickly. Often the illness is only one barrier to returning to work. We provide advice and support on a range of issues such as healthcare, employment, skills, housing and debt advice.”