Gilbert, E., Marwaha, Steven, Milton, Alyssa, Johnson, Sonia, Morant, Nicola, Parsons, Nicholas R., Fisher, A., Singh, Swaran P. and Cunliffe, Di (2013) Social firms as a means of vocational recovery for people with mental illness : a UK survey. BMC Health Services Research, Volume 13 (Number 1). Article number 270. doi:10.1186/1472-6963-13-270 ISSN 1472-6963.

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Abstract

Background:
Employment is associated with better quality of life and wellbeing in people with mental illness. Unemployment is associated with greater levels of psychological illness and is viewed as a core part of the social exclusion faced by people with mental illness. Social Firms offer paid employment to people with mental illness but are under-investigated in the UK. The aims of this phase of the Social Firms A Route to Recovery (SoFARR) project were to describe the availability and spread of Social Firms across the UK, to outline the range of opportunities Social Firms offer people with severe mental illness and to understand the extent to which they are employed within these firms.
Method:
A UK national survey of Social Firms, other social enterprises and supported businesses was completed to understand the extent to which they provide paid employment for the mentally ill. A study-specific questionnaire was developed. It covered two broad areas asking employers about the nature of the Social Firm itself and about the employees with mental illness working there.
Results:
We obtained returns from 76 Social Firms and social enterprises / supported businesses employing 692 people with mental illness. Forty per cent of Social Firms were in the south of England, 24% in the North and the Midlands, 18% in Scotland and 18% in Wales. Other social enterprises/supported businesses were similarly distributed. Trading activities were confined mainly to manufacturing, service industry, recycling, horticulture and catering. The number of employees with mental illness working in Social Firms and other social enterprises/supported businesses was small (median of 3 and 6.5 respectively). Over 50% employed people with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, though the greatest proportion of employees with mental illness had depression or anxiety. Over two thirds of Social Firms liaised with mental health services and over a quarter received funding from the NHS or a mental health charity. Most workers with mental illness in Social Firms had been employed for over 2 years.
Conclusions:
Social Firms have significant potential to be a viable addition to Individual Placement and Support (IPS), supporting recovery orientated services for people with the full range of mental disorders. They are currently an underdeveloped sector in the UK.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HN Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine
Divisions:	Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Medicine > Warwick Medical School > Health Sciences Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Medicine > Warwick Medical School > Health Sciences > Mental Health and Wellbeing Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Medicine > Warwick Medical School
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Industries -- Social aspects, Business enterprises -- Great Britain, Mental health -- Great Britain, Mental health policy, Psychiatry -- Research, Social psychiatry -- Great Britain, People with disabilities -- Employment, Sheltered workshops , Sheltered workshops -- Employees, Mental illness -- Treatment
Journal or Publication Title:	BMC Health Services Research
Publisher:	Biomed central
ISSN:	1472-6963
Official Date:	2013
Dates:	Date Event 2013 Published
Volume:	Volume 13
Number:	Number 1
Page Range:	Article number 270
DOI:	10.1186/1472-6963-13-270
Status:	Peer Reviewed
Publication Status:	Published
Access rights to Published version:	Open Access (Creative Commons)
Date of first compliant deposit:	24 December 2015
Date of first compliant Open Access:	24 December 2015
Funder:	National Institute for Health Research (Great Britain) (NIHR)

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