Evaluation of The Poppy Factory’s NHS-embedded Employment Support Pilot for Veterans

Abstract: This summary provides a brief overview of the evaluation of the The Poppy Factory Pilot, conducted by the Institute of Mental Health, Nottingham. The evaluation focused on three sources of data: The Poppy Factory’s organisational monitoring data on employment outcomes; data collected from an online survey conducted at baseline and follow-up from veterans assessing change in mental wellbeing, self-esteem, quality of life employability skills and financial wellbeing; and interview data from veterans and stakeholders. The Poppy Factory pilot service was effective in achieving positive employment outcomes and improvements to wellbeing and quality of life. The most important feature of this service for engaging with veterans centred around the trusting relationship between them and the ECs which developed over the time spent in the service. This was further supported by the understanding of the veteran experience, continuity of ECs and accessibility to them, and the positive behaviours and compassion showed by staff. The adaptations made by this service to the standard IPS model appear to be important in meeting the complex needs of veterans, particularly the step away from a focus on rapid job search and securing a first competitive employment within a short time-frame. The partnership working with NHS and other services further supported the effectiveness of the service and co-location within the NHS was beneficial to this.