- Written by Alice Hart & Ella Ruhl
- 4 BBC files
image source, Getty Images
The British Association for Counseling and Psychotherapy (BACP) has announced that allegations relating to the UK's largest provider of workplace mental health services will be investigated by the British Association for Counseling and Psychotherapy (BACP).
BBC File on 4 heard allegations that calls from vulnerable people to Health Assured were not always handled properly.
One caller claims he was encouraged to “date” his wife after he told them he was suicidal.
Health Assured disputes this claim.
Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) are designed to help employees deal with personal issues that may affect their health and performance at work.
They typically provide access to helplines and short-term counseling services.
According to the UK Association of Employee Assistance Programs, three-quarters of the UK workforce has access to this program through their employer. The organization describes EAPs as “an extremely valuable resource for employees.”
File on 4 spoke to 15 current and former employees of Health Assured, an EAP that provides support to 13 million workers in the UK and Ireland.
Its customers include NHS trusts, universities and police forces.
We spoke to counselors and team managers who described low morale, high turnover, and frequent struggles to keep up with demand.
Amy (not her real name) started working as a counselor at Health Assured last year. She said people were approaching the helpline for a wide range of issues, including trauma, bereavement, work-related stress, anxiety and depression, and a significant number of people believed they needed treatment.
But because of the company's goals, the number of people it could refer to structured counseling was limited, typically around 20% of calls, she says.
image source, Getty Images
Health Assured provides counseling to a wide range of workers in the UK and Ireland
“The goal is to get as few people into treatment as possible, so every time we recommend someone for treatment, we move further and further away from that goal,” she says.
Health Assured told the BBC that counselors are not looking to limit the number of people they refer for further counseling, adding that it carried out more than 245,000 counseling sessions last year.
However, BBC File on 4 has seen internal communications sent to counselors where weekly targets appear to be set. Within a week, they were apparently required to keep calls to 19 minutes or less and to refer only 18% of callers to treatment.
At one point, when the “average response time” was determined to be too long, a supervisor reminded counselors to make phone calls “solution-focused” and that calls were “all-inclusive” for clients. “It's not the right place,” he said.
Examining employee assistance programs
Alice Hart examines the employee support programs available to around 25 million workers in the UK through their employers.
Listen on Tuesday 12 March at 20:00 GMT on BBC Radio 4 or with BBC Sound
Health Assured says it uses a variety of methods to support callers and the most appropriate route will be determined by a detailed clinical assessment. The company says it maintains the highest standards in both the care it provides and the health and well-being of its employees.
Amy added that while line managers were experienced and had clinical training, not all managers were. She says this means some counselors feel exposed or under-supported.
Nicola (not her real name) worked on the helpline as a support counselor for over two years.
At one point, she said, a “non-clinical” manager wondered whether to call an ambulance for a caller he deemed to be at risk of imminent harm.
“I’m on the phone,” Nicola says. “If you say you need an ambulance, that's enough for me because I have clinical training. Lives are at risk.”
An ambulance was called for this incident.
Health Assured says all managers from non-clinical backgrounds complete a comprehensive training program on safety measures and risk processes in place across the service.
Mikey, an emergency nurse at an NHS hospital in Hampshire, called Health Assured when he was feeling suicidal.
He says one counselor told him to “go on a date with his wife” and did not refer him to structured counseling.
Mikey says it wasn't until his third call, six weeks after his first call, that he connected with a local therapist for in-person counseling.
File on 4 has submitted examples of these and other safeguarding concerns raised to the BBC to the British Association for Counseling and Psychotherapy (BACP), the body that accredits Health Assured's counseling services.
The newspaper told the BBC it would investigate the allegations and take “appropriate action” if “unethical or inappropriate behavior” is found.
It warned that this could result in the granting or revocation of membership in Health Assured.
Health Assured says its ultimate focus is on clinical excellence and its clinical processes and policies are audited annually as part of its BACP accreditation.
The pressures described by those we spoke to are the result of widespread increases in pressure on all mental health professionals during and after the pandemic.
Additional reporting by Vicky Carter
