New funding is aiming to help hundreds of Southampton residents who receive secondary mental health service support to obtain and retain paid work.

An established team at Southampton City Council will receive up to £3.8million to deliver the integrated mental health employment support (IMHES) programme over the coming years.

The support will be a personalised, strengths-based and entirely voluntary scheme, an officer report said.

There are currently more than 2,000 people in Southampton who are accessing support from secondary mental health services.

The report said 87 per cent of this cohort are economically inactive or unemployed, but research suggests 80 per cent of individuals accessing these services would like to be in paid employment.

Secondary mental health services include hospitals, some psychological wellbeing services, community mental health teams, and crisis resolution and home treatment teams.

Speaking at full council on Wednesday, March 26, cabinet member for economic development Cllr Sarah Bogle said it was a really important group for a targeted intervention.

“We have a fantastic employment support offer as a city,” Cllr Bogle said.

“We have a really good team and partners that we’re working with to deliver this.”

In Southampton, the focus for IMHES will include people engaging in support from community mental health teams and the early intervention in psychosis team.

Participants must be willing to engage in support to obtain or retain paid employment, be aged 18 or over, have the right to live and work in the United Kingdom, and be entitled to public funds.

The programme will operate for five years and nine months, starting on July 1.

Employment support will be offered to 2,174 residents, with a “challenging” target that around 40 per cent will be expected to secure or retain paid employment using the individual placement support (IPS) model.

The council’s employment support team is graded as ‘exemplary’ for the delivery of IPS.

Experienced members of staff will be allocated to the delivery of the IMHES, with potential for recruitment to increase the size of the delivery team if required.

Cllr Alex Houghton, Conservative shadow cabinet member for adults and health, said he welcomed the targeted investment at a group of people who can have their lives transformed by the work of the employment support team.

He warned there were other issues also at play for people struggling with mental health.

“We are criticised for some of our approaches to housing and housing is crucial to this I think,” Cllr Houghton said.

“Also noting that unfortunately there will be concerns amongst some of the people this programme will be looking to help about changes to benefits.

“You have to be careful about the messaging to people because you are supporting with one hand perhaps and taking away with another.”

Labour councillor Vivienne Windle said the funding built on the work that has already been done by the local authority.

“This entirely voluntary and proven scheme will help local people being supported by secondary mental health services,” Cllr Windle said.

“It is a public health issue ensuring that people receiving mental health care aren’t written off, left at home believing that their lives can never improve.”