An interesting point from Malcolm Harrington’s year three review of the work capability assessment today:

“As reported in the year two review, mental function champions have been introduced at a regional level, rather than in each assessment centre as was originally recommended. Given scarce resources, the review supported this approach… Some representative groups claim that awareness of the champions is low, and that those who are aware of them believe they have little or no impact on the quality of mental function assessments. The review asked Atos to report on the effectiveness of their mental health champions. They said that their healthcare professionals found the champions to be ‘a great resource’ and that they were of ’great use to put any uncertainties into perspective’.”

Well.

A couple of weeks ago, on November 5, Mark Hoban said this about mental health champions:

“We have introduced a mental health champion in every single assessment centre throughout the country.”

That line caused some excitement among some of the people I know who have mental health illnesses and are employment and support allowance claimants, and among people I’m in contact with who support people with mental health problems through Atos work capability assessments.

Indeed, a number of these people were so taken with Hoban’s remarks that they sent them to me and asked if I could find out if there was indeed a mental health champion in every single assessment centre in the country.

I’ve written before about the concerns that people with mental health problems have about work capability assessments – the stress of the assessments, being awarded zero points in WCAs and pushed onto jobseekers’ allowance, despite histories of severe problems and a lack of support,  the winning of a judicial review by the Public Law Project on behalf of people with mental health problems to put the onus on the DWP to source medical evidence for those claimaints before the work capability assessment begins. People were pleased to hear that steps had been taken to introduce these mental health champions, but, as I say, surprised to learn that they were as prevalent as Hoban’s remark suggested. Nobody seemed to have sighted one.

So, I wrote to the DWP to ask them what Hoban meant when he said that a mental health champion had been introduced into every single assessment centre in the country.

It turned out that he did not mean there was a champion in each assessment centre. He meant that regional champions had been appointed and that they operated a sort of phone advice line.

The DWP told me:

“There is not a champion in each Atos assessment centre. Instead, there are regional champions, with all healthcare professionals having access to a telephone advice line where they can access advice from a champion.”

The department went on to say that:

“A full complement of 60 mental function champions has been in place since the end of July 2011, following a recommendation by Professor Harrington.

“The role of mental function champions is not to interact directly with claimants. Instead, their main functions are to provide advice and support to Atos HCPs (either face to face or via the helpline), spread best practise [sic], and build links with appropriate stakeholders in their area.”

The department also said that:

“All Atos healthcare professionals receive specific and additional training in assessing mental health conditions.

“We are currently working with a number of specialist disability representative groups to improve the initial questionnaire that is sent to claimants.

“We are also working closely with a range of disability organisations to develop an ‘evidence-based review’ of the descriptors used in the WCA in order to make the WCA fairer and more accurate. This is in response to changes proposed by organisations representing both mental health and fluctuating conditions, following Professor Harrington’s second report.”

Needless to say, the mental health support professionals who’d brought Hoban’s “we have introduced a mental health champion in every single assessment centre throughout the country,” statement to my attention were disappointed to hear that what he meant was that there were a few people in each region (the numbers are here) and a phone number for Atos HCPs to ring. (Hoban did mention the phone line in an October statement. but his November remarks got people excited. “We have introduced a mental health champion in every single assessment centre throughout the country,” led people to conclude – not unreasonably – that a mental health champion had been introduced in every assessment centre throughout the country.

I went back to the department for more – to ask if the department could say what training the champions went through, if the champions are already trained health professionals (for example, doctors, nurses, psychiatrists, psychologists and so on) and how many there are in each region (as I say, those numbers are already in the public domain, but I’m always keen to see if everyone’s match).

The department came back and said I should ask Atos. I went back and said I wanted to ask the department. Hoban is theirs, after all. Things have gone quiet since then. Looks like I’ll have to go to Atos.

Harrington’s year three review – the one out today – asked Atos to report on the effectiveness of their mental health champions. “They said that their healthcare professionals found the champions to be ‘a great resource’ and that they were of ’great use to put any uncertainties into perspective’.” That sentiment sounds fantastic. Unfortunately, it is not universal.

From Harrington again today:

100. However, there was also a feeling from some charities and individuals that there can still be variability around healthcare professional performance, and that mental function cases remain the most problematic. A consistent theme from both charities and individuals remains that only healthcare professionals with relevant expertise should undertake mental function face-to-face assessments. “We believe that, without expertise in the causal conditions, healthcare professionals are not sufficiently equipped to understand why and how function may be impaired or to elicit the relevant information from an applicant who may have… difficulties in reporting their condition”, joint response from the Centre for Mental Health, HAFAL, the Mental Health Foundation, Mind, Rethink Mental Illness, the Royal College of Psychiatrists and SAMH.

And let’s not forget:

“Some representative groups claim that awareness of the champions is low, and that those who are aware of them believe they have little or no impact on the quality of mental function assessments.”

We’ll see what Atos says. Its advice on mental function champions on its site is here.

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Complete DWP reply to queries:

“A full complement of 60 Mental Function Champions have been in place since the end of July 2011 following a recommendation by Professor Harrington

There is not a Champion in each Atos Assessment Centre. Instead there are regional Champions, with all healthcare professionals having access to a telephone advice line where they can access advice from a Champion.

The role of Mental Function Champions is not to interact directly with claimants. Instead their main functions are to provide advice and support to Atos HCPs (either face to face or via the helpline), spread best practise, and build links with appropriate stakeholders in their area.

Mental Function Champions all have previous experience of working with people with mental health or cognitive problems or a learning disability.

We recognise the challenges in accurately assessing people with mental health conditions. That’s why:
·     All Atos Healthcare professionals receive specific and additional training in assessing mental health conditions.
·     In March 2011, we implemented the recommendations of a Department-led review of the Work Capability Assessment, which included the expansion of the Support Group to cover more people with certain communication problems and severe disability due to mental health conditions.

–    We are currently working with a number of specialist disability representative groups to improve the initial questionnaire that is sent to claimants.

·     We are also working closely with a range of disability organisations to develop an ‘evidence-based review’ of the descriptors used in the WCA in order to make the WCA fairer and more accurate. This is in response to changes proposed by organisations representing both mental health and fluctuating conditions, following Professor Harrington’s second report.