Healthy Working Life - Leeds

The Health and Growth Accelerator initiative aims to improve population health outcomes and increase economic growth by reducing health-related labour market inactivity. You can read more about the background to the initiative here.

The approach to the Healthy Working Life programme in Leeds is informed by insight and population health data and is catered to the specific health and care needs of people living across the city.

The picture in Leeds

“The rate of people who are economically inactive has risen sharply with long term health conditions the primary factor. Far more women than men are economically inactive as a result of various factors including childcare, costing the city £1.5bn per year.”

Leeds Inclusive Growth Strategy 2023-2030

Information from the Office of National Statistics states that around 118,000 people or 23.1% of the population aged 16 to 64 years in Leeds were "economically inactive" in the year ending December 2023. This compares with around 107,000 people (20.7%) in the year ending December 2022. (ONS data)

The percentage of people in Leeds who are economically inactive due to ill health reporting different conditions (may not be main reason for economic inactivity):

Cardiovascular disease, respiratory conditions, digestive issues, diabetes: 55.9%
Musculoskeletal conditions: 45.7%
Mental health: 29.7%
Other conditions including epilepsy and progressive illnesses: 28.7%
Difficulty seeing or hearing: 15.5%

What are we doing?

The programme in Leeds is grouped into three key pillars of activity:

Social care & NHS workforce

Prevention & early intervention activity

Employment support & employer liaison

Supporting the health and care workforce across Leeds, with an emphasis on mental health and musculoskeletal conditions but also recognising the health impact of neurodiversity and disability.

Helping Leeds residents aged 16–64 with long-term health conditions, registered with a GP practice, to start, stay, or thrive in work by enhancing their health and wellbeing.

Providing health-specific employment support through the Leeds Employment Hub help people get into work or stay in employment.

Supporting employers to improve staff health, wellbeing and skills.

We’ll do this by connecting individuals through Thrive at Work Hub into services/interventions tailored to their needs. These include:

Integrated coaching services
Workplace adjustments service
Fast track first stage therapies
Building inclusion and understanding through workplace promise
Career Compass and Career transition tool

Some of the ways we’re supporting people to stay in work:

Raising awareness of hypertension.
Supporting people on ADHD waiting lists.
Employment support via NHS talking therapies for anxiety and depression
Weight Management support in Primary Care.
Support to help people living with pain, fatigue and musculoskeletal health and foot issues due to diabetes.
Promoting physical activity and healthy lifestyles through Active Leeds for Health.

Some of the ways we’ll do it:

Support for people out of work through group sessions in community settings providing, health, employment advice and skills development.
Career development support and signposting to health support for people in-work.
Support people leaving work due to ill health.
Voluntary, community and social enterprise to support people to get/stay employed

Timeline

Evaluation

National evaluation of the programme will be conducted by the National Institute for Health and Care Research. The evaluation of the Leeds programme is likely to be led locally, with guidance by the national team.