New eldercare support service in UK

Generali Employee Benefits UK has recently launched a new complimentary service designed to support employees with caring responsibilities for elderly parents.

The Eldercare Support Service offers information and assistance to all UK employees of Generali’s Group Income Protection (GIP) policyholders, whether insured or not, via the telephonic EAP delivered by Optum UK and is available to employees, eligible dependents and non-household-resident dependent parents of employees. Employees and parents can easily access useful information and assistance on topics such as bereavement, accommodation, mobility aids, etc...

As of December 2015 new enhancements additionally bring to customers some of the valuable features of the Best Doctors™ service, including Ask Best Doctors, the online medical member portal featuring a medical encyclopaedia, health calculator, video library with almost 300 health related videos, My Health Folder an online tool that lets you store all medical information related to your Best Doctors cases securely in a single place, and FindBestDoc™to help with the selection of a consultant.

Founded over 20 years ago by Professors from Harvard Medical School, Best Doctors is today the main point of contact for people searching for state-of-the-art medical advice, opinions and information (with over 30 million members in more than 100 countries), and is available in UK through insurers, employers, and affinities.

Eldercare Support Service can also include if appropriate, an Occupational Therapist’s assessment of an elderly parent with a confidential eldercare report for the employee. The assessment report aims to answer big questions such as whether the employee’s parent will be able to cope upon discharge from an unplanned stay in hospital, what sort of extra assistance they may need, what assistance is available from the local NHS trust or social care services, as well as providing a summary of key contact details. This element of the Eldercare Support Service is a valuable resource to empower employees and better equip them to cope with what can be a highly stressful and emotional time.

“Working schedules and caring responsibilities are often delicately balanced. When an emergency medical situation arises, especially with an ageing parent, this balance can become unmanageable and the resulting situation can be complex, time-consuming, and traumatic.” says Simon Thomas, Head of Employee Benefits & Life Division, Generali UK Branch. “We know the UK 50+ economy is already the third largest in the world, and the sandwich generation phenomenon is already the norm for many families. It's time to remove stigmas, open dialogue and wherever possible offer support that can make a real difference to employees and their families. For this reason, and in alignment with the Group’s core values, Generali UK has launched the new Eldercare Support Service.”

To learn more about the new Eldercare Support Service from Generali UK please contact EAP@generali.co.uk