The role of interprofessional working in the Pathways to Work Condition Management Programmes

Condition Management Programmes (CMPs) were established in seven pilot sites in the UK as one strand of the Incapacity Benefit Pathways to Work programme, an initiative that exemplifies interprofessional working beyond traditional healthcare boundaries. During the evaluation of the pilots, 103 stakeholders in the CMPs took part in focus group discussions or telephone interviews. This article examines their perceptions in relation to interprofessional working and its impact on service provision and practice. Although teething problems were experienced in establishing the interprofessional working necessary for success, a shared commitment to the CMP ethos enabled these to be largely overcome. Outstanding issues raised by participants concerned the boundaries around the CMPs’ new ways of working, in particular around treatment versus self-management and around the combined health and work focus of the pilots. One of the recommendations from Dame Carol Black’s recent review of the health of Britain’s working population was for a drive to promote the understanding of the positive relationship between health and work. The experiences of the staff involved in the CMP pilots provides a useful insight into the benefits and difficulties experienced in relation to interprofessional working between different professional groups in this area.