9 September 2024

Health Hero coming soon - new psychological therapy from Occupational Health

As part of a change to the Occupational Health and Wellbeing (OHW) delivery model, we will be introducing a new way to receive psychological therapy interventions. This is to improve access to services whilst ensuring all services are offered in line with NICE guidance.

From 16 September, colleagues referred to our Occupational Health services who need psychological support will be offered a new Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) called Health Hero.

Staff should continue to self-refer in the usual way, either by contacting the department on 01925 664010 or emailing OHWB@merseycare.nhs.uk.

What will the new offer look like?

  • Staff referrals for psychological support will continue to be made in the same way via the OHW inbox or telephone number
  • Requests will be triaged by our in-house team. Where counselling is identified as the most relevant treatment path, with consent, the triage will be shared securely with the EAP provider who will contact the individual within three working days to make an appointment which will be delivered within a further 5 working days.
  • The EAP provider will complete the relevant course of treatment after which, with consent, they will provide a discharge summary to OHW outlining interventions delivered and other relevant information. This will be saved in the individuals OHW records.
  • The EAP will also provide
    • ‘in-the-moment’ advice to staff outside of the usual OHW opening hours. This includes signposting to urgent care where needed but excludes direct therapeutic interventions which are only available via the in-house triage process.
    • 24/7 access to legal and debt advice via a dedicated helpline
    • access to a health and well-being portal which includes information on a variety of physical and mental health matters as well as access to self-directed computer based CBT.

Further details will be shared on the 16 September.

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