Mental ill health affects 1 in 4 people in the UK each year. For those affected, there are wide ranging ramifications, often affecting their physical health, their relationships with those closest to them, their financial resilience, and their work life.
The cost to the individual and their loved ones is incalculable; combined, at societal level, the cost to the economy is up to £100bn. As the scale and impact of mental ill health has become clearer and better understood, its prominence as a public policy issue has grown significantly.
In January 2017, the Prime Minister set out her vision to help individuals and families affected by mental ill health. As part of this, she announced a review led by Paul Farmer CBE, Chief Executive of Mind, and Lord Dennis Stevenson that will look specifically at supporting mental health in the workplace. Moreover, other government initiatives such as Improving Lives: The Work, Health and Disability Green Paper, also represent opportunities to improve outcomes for those suffering from mental ill health.
This event will look at how the impact of these initiatives can be maximised, how Government, charities, employers and all sectors of society can work together to deliver better outcomes in this space. A specific focus will be on the role that the insurance industry can play in helping individuals directly, as well as helping employers better protect their staff and their businesses.
This event will look at:
- Ways in which awareness can be improved and stigma removed
- The prevention strategies that individuals and employers can put in place to reduce the number of those affected by mental ill health
- The corporate strategies that can be adopted to ensure employers, whatever their size and sector, are able to help their staff when they are faced with this challenge
- The ways in which return to work rates can be improved and in which financial resilience of those who cannot return to work can be guaranteed
- The policy strategies that could help halve the disability employment gap
Keynote speaker:
- Penny Mordaunt MP, Minister of State for Disabled People, Health and Work
Confirmed speakers:
- Lord Stevenson of Coddenham CBE
- Rt Hon Norman Lamb MP
- Dr John Mitchell, Principal Medical Officer and Psychiatric Adviser, Scottish Government
- Professor Dame Carol Black
- Dr Chris Ball, Life/Health Consulting Medical Officer, Gen Re
- Andrea Fields, Rehabilitation Manager, LV=
- Saumya Barber, Rehabilitation and Health Services Manager, Unum
- Heather Buckeridge, Mental Health Clinical Nurse Consultant, Aviva
- Dr Ali Hasan, Clinical Operations Director, Vitality Health
- Laura Gardiner, Senior Research and Policy Analyst, Resolution Foundation