The British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy is to investigate leading EAP provider Health Assured, following a BBC File on 4 programme, that claiming calls were not always handled appropriately.
Health Assured has disputed the findings of the radio programme, saying it has proactively contacted the BACP to advise them on the upcoming coverage.
The File on 4 programme spoke to 15 current and former employees of Health Assured, which provides EAPs to 13m employees in businesses and public sector bodies in the UK and Ireland. The BBC says the counsellors and team managers interviewed said they were struggling to keep up with increased demand for these mental health services, leading to low morale and high staff turnover. The programme cited cases were people were not referred to appropriate counselling or therapy, claiming this was because of company targets.
However Health Assured has said that there are no targets imposed on the number of people contacting its helpline who are referred through to counselling services.
Health Assured chief executive Bertrand Stern-Gillet said: “Counsellors are not targeted on limiting people who are referred on for further counselling or disciplined for helping people who would benefit from counselling.
“In 2023, Health Assured delivered over 245,000 counselling sessions, with 97.4 per cent of all sessions being with a counsellor in person, via video or over the telephone.”
He adds that there has been a significant increase in demand since the pandemic. “In 2019, Health Assured had just under 277,000 telephone contacts with service users, but, in 2023, this had risen to over 475,000 contacts.”
However despite this increased he said services standards had been maintained. “Our call abandonment rate is extremely low at less than 1 per cent for 2023 overall, and 0.3 per cent for 2024 to date. HA counsellors complete, on average, 16 calls per day in a 7.5-hour shift – there is no artificial limit on the length of calls, and over 60 per cent of our in the moment support calls last longer than 20 minutes.
“In 2023, our complaint rate was less than 0.5 per cent of the total number of cases. We were the first EAP provider in the UK to have our counselling service organisationally accredited by the BACP and this accreditation is subject to an annual audit carried out by them.”
He adds that the company is also listed in The Sunday Times Best Places to Work 2023 following an independent staff survey and it has held an Investor in People Silver accreditation for five years, which is subject to an annual independent audits.
Stern-Gillet adds: “Health Assured’s ultimate focus is on quality and client experience, and the testimony we hear from clients and service users every day speaks to the clinical excellence of our service. We hold ourselves to the highest standard – both in the care we provide as well as ensuring the health and wellbeing of our employees. Our 97 per cent client retention rate, reviews, and accreditations are testimony to this.”
Group Risk Development (Grid) the industry trade body of which Health Assured is a member declined to comment on the specifics of this issue while an investigation is ongoing.
However Grid spokeswoman Katharine Moxham says: “Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs) are a crucial part of the embedded support that group risk providers make available to employees via their employer’s group risk policy. EAPs can be a lifeline, especially when NHS services are so stretched.
“However, it’s important for employers to understand what’s included and how employees can best use the service. Additionally, group income protection insurers will often provide fast-tracked access to talking therapies outside of the EAP service they make available so it’s also important that employers are aware of all available support, so to ensure their employees are also aware of the support that’s available.”
