SME advice line forms part of national mental-health strategy

摘要

A new occupational-health advice line for small businesses is being piloted as part of a wide-ranging government strategy to improve support for people with mental-health conditions.rnThe employer helpline pilots, which have opened in seven regions of England and across the whole of Scotland and Wales, have been set up in response to a review, commissioned by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and led by Dr Rachel Perkins, into what measures could be put in place to improve support for unemployed people with mental-health issues.rnPsychological ill health costs the economy between ￡30bn and ￡40bn a year through lost production, sickness pay, NHS treatment, and the personal and financial costs associated with being out of work. One in six people is reported to have a mental-health problem, and it is the second most common factor in deaths among men aged between 14 and 44.