Psychosocial employment support for those with chronic conditions and pain — Ways to Wellness

Psychosocial employment support for people with chronic conditions and pain

Psychosocial employment support - client fact sheet

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Background

Part of the North East Combined Authority (NECA) Economic Inactivity Trailblazer, Ways to Wellness is funded by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to offer client-led support to people who feel unable to work due to pain or their health, to build confidence and skills for work.

This is not about making anyone start or return to work before they feel ready to. It is aimed at supporting people in the self-management of their pain or persistent physical symptoms, so they can find the space and energy for more meaningful activity in their lives, including around work or taking steps towards work.

Support is personalised to each individual, and will look at all the things that may be impacting on whether they feel able to work, or to look for work.

It doesn’t matter how long any client has been away from the workplace. Everyone is different, and the pace will be set by them.

If they claim benefits, these will be unaffected whether they receive support through this scheme or not.

2. Who we help

To be eligible for support, clients must not be currently in work, or actively looking for work.

They must also:

✅ Be aged between 18 and 64

✅ Live in either Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead, North Tyneside or Northumberland

✅ Be living with a chronic condition, or with pain or other symptoms that are preventing them from working. This can be a new development, or this may have been the case for several years

✅ Have the legal right to be able to work in the UK

Support, which is offered through a specialist social prescribing link worker, is non-medical and is intended to work alongside any medical treatment clients may be receiving to manage their symptoms.

4. Evaluation and evidence

This test and learn project started in August 2025 and is initially due to run to March 2026.

We have identified two categories of success measures that we would like to explore in this phase:

Improved quality of life for individuals

We will use validated tools to track progress, including the Pathway Star™, which assesses progress for people overcoming barriers to work, and the Pain Self Efficacy Questionnaire, developed to assess the confidence people in pain have in performing activities while in pain.

Measuring progress and personal outcomes

We will measure direct outputs and outcomes for clients, including access to basic skills, support to gain employment, and reduced structural barriers to employment and skills provision linked to health conditions.

We also intend to develop a theory of change for our approach, and will be participating in wider evaluation of the North East Combined Authority’s Trailblazer programme, to help us understand our wider impact.

5. Partners and funders

This project is funded by the North East Combined Authority as part of the Economic Inactivity Trailblazer, a £10 million programme funded by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP). It aims to help over 2,000 people in the North East who are not working because of ill health.

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