Workplace mental health service firm investigated

Health Assured is one of the UK’s biggest mental health services. It offers short-term and long-term support for people with mental health problems. The service is run by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) The BACP has been asked to investigate claims that the service is under-resourced. Health Assured provides support to 13 million workers in the UK and Ireland.

Its clients include NHS trusts, universities, and police forces. Staff describe low morale, high staff turnover, and a struggle to keep up with demand. The body describes EAPs as a “highly valuable resource to employees. Health Assured has told the BBC that counsellors are not targeted on limiting how many people it refers on for further counselling.

But BBC File on 4 has seen internal communications which seem to show weekly targets being set. Health Assured says it delivered more than 245,000 counselling sessions last year. Health Assured says it uses a variety of methods to support callers. It says it holds itself to the highest standard - both in the care it provides and the health and wellbeing of its employees.

Alys Harte examines Employee Assistance Programmes - which almost 25 million workers in the UK have access to through their employer. Nicola (not her real name) worked on the helpline as a support counsellor for over two years. She says this meant some counsellors felt exposed or under-supported. Health Assured says all managers from a non-clinical background have completed a comprehensive training programme.

Mikey is an emergency nurse practitioner at an NHS hospital in Hampshire. He called Health Assured when he was experiencing suicidal thoughts. He says one counsellor told him to “go on a date with his wife. Mikey says it was not until his third call - six weeks after the first - that he was put in touch with a local therapist.

Health Assured says its ultimate focus is on clinical excellence. It says its clinical processes and policies are audited annually as part of its BACP accreditation. The pressures described by those we spoke to were a result of a widespread increase in the pressure on all mental health professionals during and after the pandemic. Are you affected by the issues raised in this story?

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