Health Secretary Wes Streeting has said that the expansion of the Government’s WorkWell programme across every integrated care board (ICB) in England will help ‘ease pressure on GPs and cut waiting lists’.
WorkWell supports people with health conditions to stay in or return to work by connecting them to local services, such as physiotherapy, counselling and workplace adjustments.
The Government said that the expansion will support up to 250,000 more people and comes as part of its plan to break down barriers to opportunity, boost living standards and support economic growth.
The rollout follows a pilot across 15 ICBs, which supported more than 25,000 people to stay in or re-enter work. In the pilot cohort, 48% reported mental illness as their main barrier to employment and 59% were out of work at their first appointment.
The expansion will be backed by up to £259m over the next three years, according to the Government.
Mr Streeting said the initiative was about ‘modernising a system that has written people off for too long’.
‘We’re issuing millions of fit notes a year dismissing people as simply “not fit for work”. By combining health support with employment support in local communities, WorkWell can give people back their confidence, their purpose and their wellbeing,’ he said.
Mr Streeting added that, ‘crucially’, the programme also helped ease pressure on GPs and reduce waiting lists.
The NHS Confederation welcomed the news that the scheme will be rolled out across every ICB.
Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said: ‘Health leaders know all too well that good work and good health are two sides of the same coin, and supporting people to stay in or return to work is an important step in helping to reverse the rates of health-related economic inactivity in England and in turn reducing pressure on the NHS as well as the economy.’
In September 2025, the NHS Confederation in collaboration with NHS England, the Department of Health and Social Care and the Department for Work and Pensions, launched the NHS Work and Health Network.
The network aims to help ICBs establish outcome targets to reduce economic activity, which is one of the recommendations in the 10 Year Health Plan.
