Community Spotlight - getUbetter

Currently there are more than 9 million people in the UK who are economically inactive – meaning they’re not in work and not actively looking for work. The government’s Get Britain Working White Paper outlined their plans for tackling economic inactivity caused by ill health. Long-term illness is the leading cause for economic inactivity with approximately 2.8 million people citing this as their reason for being out of work.

Many people accessing our government-funded employability services need support with managing physical health conditions or disabilities. We continually look for new ways to support those using our services so that their health condition no longer poses a barrier to them finding and sustaining employment. A key element of this continuous improvement work is partnering with local specialist organisations to ensure we are offering the best possible relevant support.

Since 2023, we have partnered with NHS South West London ICB (Integrated Care Board) to bring additional health and wellbeing support to South London residents accessing Better Working Futures and Work Routes – our names for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Work and Health Programme Core and Pioneer – through an app called getUbetter.

GetUbetter provides digital self-management help to people who have musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions. This collaboration is providing our participants who need it with instant access to a personalised programme of support designed to help them manage muscle and joint problems. The government shared that MSK conditions are the second largest reason given for being out of work due to ill health, with around 646,000 people saying MSK is their primary condition.