Secretary of State for work and pensions James Purnell MP is lending his support to an MS Society-led project designed to help people with chronic and fluctuating health conditions remain in work.

Mr Purnell joins the MS Society and a range of charities, work organisations and leading UK employers and trade unions at a round table event at the Work Foundation in London today (2 June).

Also attending is Dame Carol Black, author of ‘Working for a healthier tomorrow’ - the influential report that prompted the DWP to support the MS Society in setting up the project: ‘Work retention for people with chronic and fluctuating health conditions’.

Simon Gillespie, chief executive of the MS Society, said: “All too often, people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and other fluctuating health conditions say they left work too soon, either voluntarily or due to pressure from an employer. We want to provide an information resource that can act as a safety net at the point at which someone’s working life may be about to fall off a cliff.

“We also hear positive stories from employers who have invested in keeping on an employee with a chronic or fluctuating health condition. In many cases, they have benefited from keeping experienced staff on board, and have avoided the costs of recruiting anew. This information needs to be shared and we welcome the support of the Secretary of State and Dame Carol in pushing this up the work agenda.”

This working group will act as the starting point for a project supported by the DWP, designed to bring together an online resource for employees and employers, raising awareness of the support available to help people to stay in work. The site is due to be launched by the end of 2009. The conditions specifically covered by the project are MS, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, HIV and cancer.

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MS Society

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Declining private and public financial support has forced Vital Life Services, an Oakland, Calif.-based nonprofit that provided support, case management, mental health counseling and other services to roughly 400 low-income and homeless clients with HIV, to shut down, the Oakland Tribune reports. According to the Tribune, the 25-year-old center — which also provided “unique” services such as daily meals and emergency housing assistance — “has become a victim of the recession” (Burt, Oakland Tribune, 5/30).

This information was reprinted from dailyreports.kff.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily U.S. HIV/AIDS Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at dailyreports.kff.org.

© Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

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The Western North Carolina AIDS Project recently launched a media campaign that seeks to raise awareness about the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS and its effect on those living with the virus, as well as the community, the Asheville Citizen-Times reports. The “I Need You to Know” campaign, which will include a set of commercials featuring area residents talking about HIV/AIDS, will serve as a starting point for other prevention efforts (Boyd, Asheville Citizen-Times, 6/3).

This information was reprinted from dailyreports.kff.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily U.S. HIV/AIDS Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at dailyreports.kff.org.

© Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.