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Health Assured ltd
Health Assured is the UK and Ireland’s most trusted health and wellbeing network. Offering a comprehensive, award winning employee assistance programme (EAP), providing a true 24/7/365 telephone service, mobile app and online portal, offering support and advice for employees whenever they need it. Our high quality support, counselling and core EAP services are delivered by our in-house team of BACP registered counsellors and advisors who are supported by a network of face to face BACP Accredited Counsellors. All of our calls are triaged upon initial contact with the service, offering earlier interventions and tailored support from the moment an individual accesses the service. We provide a range of specialist therapeutic interventions including, but not limited to: CBT, EMDR, bereavement, road traffic accidents, phobias, humanistic therapy, integrative therapy, psychodynamic therapy, critical illness, sexual abuse, family and relationship issues, LGBT+ and identity, addiction, mindfulness and behavioural coaching.
How does your organisation contribute to preventing suicide and supporting those affected by it?
Health Assured contributes to preventing suicide and supporting those affected by suicide by operating a true 24/7/365 telephone support service to all of our clients. Following a stringent risk guidance and safeguarding policy our telephone counsellors provide high quality in the moment support to all individuals whom access our service, whether this be as a referral or the person contacting us directly. Supporting over 9.5 million lives in the UK and Ireland we provide crucial in the moment support to individuals ranging from those who have been affected by suicide, experienced suicidal ideation and those who are at immediate risk.
What are your current priorities?
Our current priorities are reducing the stigma associated with mental health and suicide by increasing the awareness of EAP’s in the workplace. We do this by holding promotional awareness days for our clients through the use of marketing materials, mental health awareness training and webinars. We believe by doing this we can encourage individuals to contact us for early intervention and use our self-help materials that are available through our online portal and mobile application. Our aim in doing this is to provide psycho-education to individuals experiencing suicidal thoughts and also to employees, family members and colleagues of those individuals, as we believe recognising the signs early is essential in preventing suicide and ensuring those struggling have someone with them in their time of need.
In addition, Health Assured hold annual conferences for our clients on a range of subjects to raise awareness and provide our clients with the knowledge and skills to assist those who may be suffering in their own workplace. Our previous conference topics include; Trauma in the Workplace, Suicide Prevention and Domestic Abuse.
Internally, our priority is to ensure that ongoing training and support is given to our counsellors and that our robust risk guidance and safeguarding policies are followed at all times, allowing our counsellors to provide support to vulnerable individuals by detecting risk factors at an early stage. In doing this, we can ensure thorough risk assessments are completed and we can effectively implement safety plans and support individuals as required.
What challenges are you currently facing?
As an EAP, we face the challenge of a lack of understanding upon contact with GPs and mental health teams (on what an EAP is) meaning that individuals may not receive the support required beyond what we can provide. A challenge also arises when the individual who is accessing the support hasn’t provided the correct contact details resulting in us being unable to get immediate medical attention.
Health Assured face similar challenges as other mental health support services in that there is limited support from healthcare professionals due to increased demand and the cultural stigma that is associated with mental health and suicide. This can make it difficult for vulnerable individuals to feel comfortable in opening up and disclosing how they are feeling and as a result this makes it challenging for our counsellors on the helpline to identify risk factors immediately.