Job Center staff will be stationed in GP surgeries and physiotherapy clinics in an effort to get sick patients off benefits and back to work.
Career counselors will encourage unemployed patients to return to the workforce and help them find suitable employment.
The NHS will work with the Government to trial the scheme from early next year, starting in areas with high levels of economic inactivity due to health problems.
It will then be rolled out across the country if it is proven to increase wellbeing and address the sick leave culture in the country.
Amanda Pritchard, chief executive of NHS England, said last night: “By tackling the rise in health-related economic inactivity and helping people stay in work or return to work, the NHS can be a key driver for the economic growth in England. ‘
One in ten people of working age (equivalent to 3.9 million adults) currently receive health-related benefits in England and Wales.
According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, this figure represents an increase of 38 percent from 2.8 million people in just four years.
Over this period, real terms spending on disability or incapacity benefits has increased by a third, from £36 billion to £48 billion and is expected to reach £63 billion in 2028.
One in ten people of working age (equivalent to 3.9 million adults) now receive health-related benefits in England and Wales.
Jobcentre staff will be based in GP surgeries and physiotherapy clinics in an effort to eliminate sick leave and return to work.
Backed by £45m from the Autumn Budget, the trial will allow the NHS to create “health and growth accelerators” in South Yorkshire, North East and North Cumbria, and West Yorkshire.
All three areas will seek to improve people’s health as well as tackling the conditions that most affect people’s ability to work, including heart disease, diabetes, back pain and poor mental health.
Staff will increase efforts to prevent illnesses that lead people to leave work, helping them manage their illnesses and supporting them to make lifestyle changes.
The accelerators, announced this week at the NHS England board meeting, will also trial the use of phone apps and websites to support mental health and musculoskeletal pain therapy sessions.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting previously promised to reform the health service to make it more effective in getting sick people back to work.
Speaking at a Public Policy Research Institute event in September, he highlighted how a drop in productivity due to poor health “has cost our economy £25 billion since 2018” and how 900,000 more people are out of work. than they would have been before the pandemic. tendencies.
“That’s more people than Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Asda combined,” Mr Streeting said.
‘If no action is taken, at the end of this parliament, 4.3 million people could be out of work due to illness. Millions of people will be left behind, welfare bills will skyrocket and growth will be hampered.’
One in ten people of working age (equivalent to 3.9 million adults) now receive health-related benefits in England and Wales.
In addition to the accelerators, NHS England is working with the Office for National Statistics to evaluate the economic benefits of various health interventions, including talking therapies, bariatric surgery, endometriosis treatment and the Prevention Program. NHS Type 2 Diabetes.
The analysis will cover the impact on waiting times, employment rates and earnings, while the Office for Budget Responsibility and the government will feed into work on the effects on the labor market.
A pilot scheme in the North East and North Cumbria, led by the Integrated Care Board and the Department for Work and Pensions, has already helped almost 2,000 people return to work through tailored support in County Durham and the Valley of Tees.
Samantha Allen, chief executive of North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board, said: “Our GPs often see patients who want to be at work but need practical, non-medical help, in addition to what a doctor can offer.
“Having a job, a stable income and feeling useful makes a big difference to people’s health, and so far almost a third of patients who see a counselor have managed to return to working life.”
Professor Kamila Hawthorne, President of the Royal College of GPs, said: “We know that working can generally be beneficial to the health of our patients, so we must ensure they receive the support they need to return to work, whenever that may be. safe for them.” That they do it is a good thing.
“However, it is important that we do not force patients to work or return to work before they are ready, as this could have a detrimental impact on their health.”
Parth Patel, associate director of the IPPR, said: “Most of those who are unwell would like to return to work if they could be better supported to do so.”
“This pilot brings together local health and employment services in the way recommended by our commission’s report, supported by evidence, to help increase wellbeing and health growth across the country.”