Job’s a good one in Kirklees employment service review
The Kirklees individual placement and support service (IPS), which supports people using secondary mental health services to find competitive paid employment, has achieved a top score in its first external review.
The team’s Fidelity Review was carried out by IPS Grow in October, and they have now been awarded 109 points out of a possible 125 – a ‘Good Fidelity’ rating. Since May 2022, the team has supported 20 people accessing core and early intervention in psychosis services in Kirklees to secure job roles.
The team also secured the IPS Grow Quality Kite Mark, which recognises how well the team works with clinical services, their employer engagement, and acknowledges their support of over 30% of people accessing the service into paid employment.
IPS services are assessed against the IPS fidelity scale, with research identifying that higher fidelity services will achieve higher numbers of employment outcomes for service users. The assessment involves a mix of interviews with employment specialists, clinical teams and senior management, as well as observations and reviews of records and data.
The process also enables the team to reflect on their performance, to identify what’s going well, and to look at what can be improved.
Chief nurse and director of quality and professions Darryl Thompson said: “This is a great achievement for the team and demonstrates just how enthusiastic they all are about helping people to find and keep jobs. They received some fantastic feedback from the assessors which I know will motivate them to continue offering their personalised and effective support. Thanks to everyone involved in achieving such a positive result.”
Richard Bates, IPS service manager, said: “We’re really proud of the score we have achieved in recognition of our service’s efforts. Newly established services like ours can often take time to work up to a high rating so we are really pleased that we are already making a significant impact. Our team is passionate about supporting people into work and we believe that everyone is capable of working if the right environment is found and the right support is provided.”