Employment support service named as best in the country

Cheshire’s Individual Placement and Support Service (IPS) has been listed as ‘exemplary’ following a recent review - the highest scoring service in the country.

The IPS service aims to help people with severe mental health difficulties get into employment, and is run by CWP in partnership with Standguide, a national organisation who provide employment related services, focusing on improving wellbeing, training, and supporting people with health-related challenges. The service sits within NHS services and can be accessed through specialist community mental health nurses and other professionals.

Louise Jordan, NHS IPS operations manager, said:

“Employment specialists work in direct partnership with clinicians to ensure full support is given to every person wanting to achieve paid employment and vocational goals. Paid employment is fundamental to lots of people’s recovery, and we’re delighted that working together has helped more people achieve their employment goals.”

Despite being one of the smallest of 70 IPS services within England, the IPS partnership has achieved the highest Fidelity score ever recorded by an IPS service in the country with 119 out of the 125 maximum points. The team has also been awarded the ‘Quality Mark’ as a mark of recognition.