We’re here day and night, don’t worry and wait

The 24/7 health support phone line is embedded and readily available to employees and their families included in their company’s AXA Health private healthcare scheme or employees accessing mental health support via their employee assistance programme (EAP). No worry is too small – if it matters to them, it matters to us.

We asked Lane Wells (RGN), one of the health support line team, about how they can help your employees and put their minds at ease.

Supporting employees with everyday concerns 

“The helpline provides all sorts of support, really. Callers can talk to us about anything. So, any concern that they have - for example, if they’re worried about speaking to a doctor, if they’ve had a recent diagnosis, or if they’re worried about how they’re feeling, we’ll chat through it with them and provide support based around their need.”

What are the main concerns affecting callers?

“Many of the calls we receive are principally around musculoskeletal issues - muscle, bone and joint conditions or problems, in particular back pain and knees. Mental health issues are also a key concern as well. We also receive questions around childhood illness and young person mental health. These are perhaps the top three types of enquiries we’re receiving at this time.” 

And longer-term illnesses?

“We also support many of our callers with enquiries around the management of long-term conditions. For example, with conditions such as Parkinson’s and MS, that could be considered chronic and no longer supported under their private medical scheme (dependent on the employee’s company scheme benefits), we’ll bridge the gap between private healthcare and the NHS. We can provide them with information about their condition, signpost to recognised charities, and organisations such Parkinson’s UK and MS Society that can provide additional support, whether that’s support groups or daily living aids.  

We can also refer to one of our pharmacists to talk a caller through their medication, helping them get to grips with scheduling and what each drug does. 

We also provide guidance about how the NHS can help. We’ll signpost callers to the most appropriate help based on their particular need. 

Information you can rely on

“Our team is made up of Registered General Nurses (RGN), pharmacists, midwives and counsellors – so a wide range of disciplines supporting physical and mental health enquiries.  

I’m part of the nurses in our team. We have a wide range of experience and specialisms including, but not limited to paediatric, orthopaedic, oncology and surgery. I specialise in adult and palliative care and have experience in district nursing. We’ve got a lot of knowledge between us, and we actively share this across the team, supporting our understanding of areas of medical discipline outside of our core specialism.

As I mentioned earlier, in addition to our nurses the team includes pharmacists able to provide guidance with questions or information around medication and minor illness as well as midwives (who are also RGNs), supporting concerns around pregnancy, miscarriage and infant health. 

The standout is we’re available to take calls 24 hours, seven days a week.¹ We’re here to talk anytime, day or night about anything - absolutely anything.”

¹ Nurses and Counsellors are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year; Pharmacists and Midwives are available Monday to Friday 8am-8pm, Saturday 8am-4pm and Sunday 8am-12pm. The 24/7 health support team cannot respond to emergencies. If you require and urgent response or have a medical emergency, please call 111/999 or attend A&E.

Secure, clinically informed and confidential

“Calls are completely confidential. Whether the employee is part of a corporate private healthcare scheme, or EAP, the use of this service does not impact private healthcare claims or other limits such as scheduled counselling via the EAP service where a client has this. Our calls and notes are completely separate.

We also follow strict guidelines. For instance, we are not able to provide medical advice or diagnose. We provide medical information and signpost to relevant professional bodies over the phone, with the aim to provide information about their medical condition and help each caller to understand how they can confidently move forward.” 

Support your employees can count on

“The feedback we get is very positive and we receive lots of ‘thank you’s’, ‘you've really helped me’ etc. One caller told me I was their ‘rock in the storm’, which meant a great deal to me and summed up just how much they valued the support I was able to provide.

We’re not restricted by time or number of calls we receive or make.  If someone is distressed or having problems, we’ll arrange a call back. We’ll check in on them when they want and carry that support through until they’re ready to say they’re OK and can take the next steps by themselves.

When someone calls the support line, they’re looking to be heard. That’s what we’re here for and that’s what we do. We get to develop a connection with them, no matter how brief. I’m proud of the work we do, the valued service it offers our clients and the help we provide those who call us. 

It’s a great service, that really helps, and I love being a part of it.”