The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) has said it will investigate allegations made against Health Assured, one of the UK’s largest workplace mental health service providers. Speaking to BBC File on 4, 15 employees, both past and present, claimed that calls from vulnerable people were not handled correctly, citing an example of a caller being advised to go on a date with his wife after threatening suicide. Health Assured denies these allegations.
Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs) such as Health Assured are designed to offer support and short-term counselling to employees who may be struggling with personal problems that could impact their work. According to the UK Employee Assistance Programme Association, employees at about 75% of UK companies have access to an EAP. Clients of Health Assured include NHS trusts, police departments and universities.
Health Assured delivers support to a total of 13m workers across the UK and Ireland, but BBC File on 4 has reported several complaints from counsellors who claimed that both high staff turnover and low staff morale contributed to struggles with meeting client demands. One anonymous counsellor said she was limited in the number of people she could refer for counselling sessions, with only around 20% of calls resulting in a referral because of company targets. Health Assured denies that counsellors are targeted in this way.
The programme also reported that several managers were not clinically trained, risking the safety of its clients and leading to complaints from employees. Health Assured said that all of its managers have completed a comprehensive training programme in safeguarding and risk management, along with its non-clinical staff. Nevertheless, complaints to the BACP regarding Health Assured’s practices will be investigated, which could result in a loss of membership for the company
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