Employee Assistance Programme

National Services Scotland

Here whenever you need support

HELP Employee Assistance supports employees who have emotional, practical, health and social issues that can affect us all from time to time.

It offers staff a wide range of services and personal support 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, including assistance, support and information on:

• Alcohol and drug misuse
• Bereavement
• Bullying and Harassment
• Childcare/Eldercare
• Debt and legal queries
• Healthy eating & nutritional advice
• Relationships
• Retirement
• Sickness absence, career/ coping with pressure
• Trauma
• Work life balance
• Weight management and personal training programmes

 Optimise - new from HELP Employee Assistance

Optimise is an exciting new on line platform from HELP EAP.

Optimise is a tool designed to help you take control of your health, a comprehensive wellbeing assessment that you and your family can take at any time.  Directed by personalised health information, Optimise is designed to encourage small but sustainable changes to help maintain fitness, health and personal resilience.

It also offers an extensive library of wellbeing information for you to access at any time, including videos, podcasts and Ted Talks.

Optimise Health are available 24 hours a day on line at Optimise Health

There is more information on Optimise available below.

How do I get in touch? 

You can get a full range of information, advice, welfare and counseling over the telephone, online and through face-to-face appointments.

They are available via:

• Telephone: 0800 032 9849 (24 hours, 7 days)
• Online 

Web-based Resources

HELP Employee Assistance will provide counselling up to 6 sessions (based on clinical need), and provides an enhanced web-based health management resource. Web-based health offers users a combination of personally tailored programmes and general health information and support, which includes:

• Healthy eating & nutritional advice and '10 minute wellness'
• Stress management solutions
• Social message board and 'Ask the expert' service

Complaints Procedure

At HELP Employee Assistance we pride ourselves on receiving high levels of user satisfaction with the service. Currently this is 99.1% overall. However we are aware that, sometimes, a user will not be satisfied with the service and would like to make a complaint.

• Clearly requests details of the complainant
• Also requests information regarding the subject of the complaint (if not the complainant)  and the consent required to be able to provide a meaningful response
• Asks for the reason for the complaint
• Provides one point of contact for all EAP complaints via an email inbox and in addition,
• Includes an FAQ document which may help improve understanding/ clarify what an EAP is and when short term counselling is, or is not, appropriate.

HELP EAP Complaints Form

If you require additional information you can contact the NSS Occupational Health or Wellbeing Advisor through HR Connect Contact Us / Occupational Health

NHS 24

Here whenever you need support

HELP Employee Assistance supports employees who have emotional, practical, health and social issues that can affect us all from time to time.

It offers staff a wide range of services and personal support 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, including assistance, support and information on:

• Alcohol and drug misuse
• Bereavement
• Bullying and Harassment
• Childcare/Eldercare
• Debt and legal queries
• Healthy eating & nutritional advice
• Relationships
• Retirement
• Sickness absence, career/ coping with pressure
• Trauma
• Work life balance
• Weight management and personal training programmes

 Optimise - new from HELP Employee Assistance

Replacing the Webzone, Optimise is an exciting new on line platform from HELP EAP.

Optimise is a tool designed to help you take control of your health, a comprehensive wellbeing assessment that you and your family can take at any time.  Directed by personalised health information, Optimise is designed to encourage small but sustainable changes to help maintain fitness, health and personal resilience.

It also offers an extensive library of wellbeing information for you to access at any time, including videos, podcasts and Ted Talks.

Optimise and Quealth are available 24 hours a day on line at https://sgcp.helpeap.com/

There is more information on Optimise available below.

How do I get in touch? 

You can get a full range of information, advice, welfare and counseling over the telephone, online and through face-to-face appointments.

They are available via:

• Telephone: 0800 032 9849 (24 hours, 7 days)
• Online

Web-based Resources

HELP Employee Assistance will provide counselling up to 6 sessions (based on clinical need), and provides an enhanced web-based health management resource. Web-based health offers users a combination of personally tailored programmes and general health information and support, which includes:

• Healthy eating & nutritional advice and '10 minute wellness'
• Stress management solutions
• Social message board and 'Ask the expert' service
• You can find the 'Help' Wellbeing calendar for 2021 here.

Complaints Procedure

At HELP Employee Assistance we pride ourselves on receiving high levels of user satisfaction with the service. Currently this is 99.1% overall. However we are aware that, sometimes, a user will not be satisfied with the service and would like to make a complaint.

• Clearly requests details of the complainant
• Also requests information regarding the subject of the complaint (if not the complainant)  and the consent required to be able to provide a meaningful response
• Asks for the reason for the complaint
• Provides one point of contact for all EAP complaints via an email inbox and in addition,
• Includes an FAQ document which may help improve understanding/ clarify what an EAP is and when short term counselling is, or is not, appropriate.

HELP EAP Complaints Form

NHS Golden Jubilee

TimeforTalking (available from Saturday 1 April 2023)

TimeforTalking is a specialist psychological wellbeing and therapy organisation dedicated to psychological resilience and positive mental health, which offers free mental health support services for all NHS Golden Jubilee staff.  The service works alongside the current range of health and wellbeing support available through NHS Golden Jubilee, both internally and externally.

TimeforTalking provides support and assistance for you via the telephone, online or through face-to-face counselling to offer confidential help when you are not sure of where to turn.

It is simple to create an account to get started on the TimeforTalking app or website.  Once on the homepage, click "Log In", enter some details and it's done.

The app and website also have great resources through tips and advice, a blog, videos and podcasts, as well as additional resources to improve and maintain good health and wellbeing.

How can I access support?

Simply use one of the contact options below to get started:

Phone: 0330 202 0283 (open 8.30am to 5.30pm Monday to Friday, with a 24/7 live chat service online)

Website: https://www.timefortalking.co.uk/

Email: admin@timefortalking.co.uk 

You can also download the app.  On your device, go to the app store and search TimeforTalking.

Public Health Scotland

Scottish Ambulance Service

The Scottish Ambulance Service have joined the Scottish Government Framework agreement for an Employee Assistance Programme - ‘Help’.

Help are available at any time of the night or day, 365 days of the year, and if you are worried about any personal or work-related problems you can go to www.sgcp.helpeap.com for self help information and guidance or call 0800 032 9849. Or text  relay 18001 - 0800 032 9849.

How can ‘Help’ help?

Emotional, practical, health and social problems affect many of us from time to time.  They can cause great personal distress and affect our quality of life, both at home and at work.  The Help Service provides professional support and guidance for employees experiencing such issues.  We understand the working environment and can provide you with the best possible guidance on maintaining good health and general well-being.   Please refer to the leaflet below to find out more about the support offered by Help.

The service is delivered by a team of trained welfare and counselling practitioners to support all employees offering confidential, independent and unbiased information and guidance in a range of ways - by telephone, in writing, on-line counselling, on-line CBT and through face-to-face appointments.

You can find the 'Help' Wellbeing calendar for 2021 here.

The State Hospital

THE EASY (EARLY ACCESS to SUPPORT for YOU) SICKNESS ABSENCE SERVICE

Some absence due to sickness is inevitable within any large organisation and sickness absence needs to be dealt with in a fair, understanding and sympathetic way. Absence is costly. It has an adverse effect upon colleagues and on the level and quality of service.  Effective monitoring of all forms of absence, and a consistency of approach, are essential if absence levels are to be reduced and maintained in line with the Hospital’s 5% target.

Evidence shows that early telephone-based intervention for sickness absence management improves efficiency; the value of the hours saved from the reduced sickness absence exceeds the cost of operating the service.

As a result, The State Hospital has implemented a unique telephone-based sickness absence management service entitled “EASY” (Early Access to Support for You).  The EASY service supplements existing absence policies and enables telephone communication between the absentee, their line manager, and the EASY service from the first day of absence and referral to Occupational Health Services at day ten.

Further information on the EASY service and making an EASY referral can be found in the tabs below.

COUNSELLING / TIME FOR TALKING SERVICES

Counselling support is offered via telephone, face-to-face or by Skype.

This service provides a 24/7 helpline which you can use to speak to a counsellor about anything that is worrying you or causing you distress.  It might be a personal issue or a work issue and the helpline allows you to discuss it with someone who will support you to find the best way to deal with your worry.

To use this service or to contact any of the managers, telephone 0800 970 3980 or email admin@timefortalking.co.uk