24/7 GP service

Simplyhealth have partnered with HealthHero to provide their GP services to our customers.

HealthHero has been clinically chosen by Simplyhealth to provide this GP service and together we work to deliver a trusted service to our customers.

HealthHero is the largest digital-first healthcare provider in Europe – supporting 35 million people. Their Video GP service allows you to speak face-to-face to a doctor from the comfort of your own home or anywhere that is convenient.

Consultations are provided by HealthHero - https://www.healthhero.com.

By booking a consultation you are agreeing to HealthHero’s terms and conditions and consenting to data being collected and shared for legitimate purposes as detailed in HealthHero’s privacy policy.

You can sign up and book a GP appointment within minutes through your Simplyhealth Plan. The service is accessible using both SimplyPlan and your online account.

• Register (you’ll only need to do this once) and enter the access code
• Fill in your details and check your email inbox for a confirmation email 
• Once registered, simply sign in and book your consultation at a time that works for you 

Alternatively, you can call to book an appointment via telephone and the number can be accessed via your Simplyhealth portal, through myWellbeing.

Telephone consultations are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Video consultations are available between 8am and 10pm, 7 days a week. 

Yes. Where possible, they will always try to accommodate a patient’s preference to speak to a male or female doctor. There is an option to select your preference when booking.

Anything you would ask your own GP, for example, stomach issues, ears, nose and throat complaints, dermatological conditions, aches and pains and explanations or second opinions on diagnosis or treatment.

If you have adult or child dependants on the policy, they can also access the service. Any dependants over 18 will need to register separately for a HealthHero account and book their own appointments if they would like to speak to a GP.

If it is clinically appropriate and if the service is available to you, the GP can issue a private fit note, at the discretion of the clinician. HealthHero does not charge for issuing private fit notes, but you will need to check with your employer to confirm that they will accept one. Private fit notes cannot be used to access state-funded sick pay or benefits.

For acute problems that the patient is consulting about, the clinician may, at their discretion, issue a fit note for up to 14 days from the date of the consultation (in exceptional cases up to 21 days).

They cannot issue extensions of fit notes, whether these were initiated by a HealthHero clinician or any other clinician. Fit notes can be backdated:

• To the day the patient booked the appointment
• Up to one week at the clinician’s discretion
• Any length of time, if the patient provides proof that they need the fit note backdated for longer, at the clinician’s discretion.

Please make sure you are available at the time of your appointment, you will receive a text and email reminder 10 minutes before, just in case you lose track of time.

You will need to explain your symptoms and/or condition with the doctor, so please make sure you are in a suitable environment, and where both you and the doctor can hear.

Many customers receive the advice, reassurance and, where appropriate, diagnosis they need from the GP. The GPs can assist with most questions you may want to ask a GP, but there may be some cases where you may have to see your own NHS GP due to the limitations of a virtual service.

You must not use the service for emergencies or urgent conditions as this may delay necessary treatment.

If you believe that you are in an emergency or life-threatening situation you should contact your local emergency services immediately, especially if someone:

• has difficulty or is not breathing
• you believe someone is having a heart attack or stroke
• has severe chest pain
• has severe abdominal pain
• has severe bleeding and it can’t be stopped
• has lost consciousness
• is in an acute confused state and/or is having fits which aren’t stopping

You may still need to see your own GP or contact the emergency services if the clinician you speak with feels it is necessary.

Yes. If the GP thinks it’s appropriate, they can issue you with a prescription.

Prescriptions can only be issued in the name of the person who the appointment has been booked for. This is important for accurate medical record keeping.

Due to the potential for some medications to be misused, it may be important for your NHS GP to be informed.

Occasionally the GP may advise an examination is necessary rather than issuing a prescription.

Your current exemptions will not apply.  If you require a prescription following your medical consultation you will be required to pay for the prescription medicine.  For more details, please see the Prescription FAQs.

HealthHero will share notes with members/patients directly following their consultation, but only upon request.

HealthHero are able to share notes with your current NHS GP, if consent is provided, and the notes will be sent via email. The GP is sent a secure link to access the notes and update their system. 

All patient data and records are stored on a patient management system, in a secure data centre which is only accessible with multi-factor authentication by authorised personnel.

Patient confidentiality is very important, any records remain confidential.

HealthHero doctors follow clear guidelines about sharing clinical notes with the patient’s own GPs; when appropriate and with patient explicit consent, they can send any relevant medical notes, including consultation notes for any prescriptions or referrals issued, to the patient’s own NHS GP.

Online

Our online pharmacy pathway is the preferred route for our members.

Members can choose to have their medication delivered to any nominated UK address. For delivery, there is a separate charge for postage and packaging. The online pharmacy will contact you directly to take payment online.

The dispensing pharmacy is open on weekdays from 9 am to 6pm and on Saturdays from 9am to 1pm, UK time, excluding UK bank holidays.

The dispensing pharmacy will confirm the total cost and delivery options and you are under no obligation to proceed.

Nominated Pharmacy

The medication can be collected from a pharmacy of your choice. Since these are private prescriptions, the pharmacy will charge for the private medication.

If you are in the UK at the time of your consultation, we will issue an electronic prescription using a service provided by our partner, SignatureRx, which can be dispensed at a UK pharmacy of your choice.

When SignatureRx receives your prescription, you will be contacted by text and/or e-mail with a unique identification code for you to present to your chosen pharmacy so they can access your prescription and dispense your medication.

All pharmacies in the UK should accept prescriptions delivered through SignatureRx. You can find the pharmacies nearest to you and who are already familiar with the SignatureRx service here: https://signaturerx.co.uk/patient-guide/

Yes, as with any of the options to get your medication as this is a private prescription service and not covered by the NHS. The cost of medication will vary in different parts of the country and therefore the GP cannot give you an estimate of how much your prescription medication will cost you.

Yes, you can claim for any private prescription fees, but any delivery charges incurred are not claimable through your Simplyhealth plan.

Simplyhealth have partnered with Health Assured, who are the leading Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) provider in the UK dealing with many of the UK’s leading organisations across private, public, and non-profit sectors. They have vast experience and a proven track record in delivering mental health and wellbeing advice and counselling support. 

Counsellors who work for Health Assured hold a qualification in counselling or psychotherapy, and a membership with accreditation eligibility to the BACP (British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy) or equivalent.

You, and anyone named on the plan over the age of 16, can use the Counselling and Advice Service to speak to a fully qualified counsellor or psychotherapist 24/7, 365 days a year.

To access this service, a phone number can be accessed through your online portal, via myWellbeing. Under 'Advice and Counselling', you will then view the contact details for this service. A qualified counsellor or legal advisor will answer your call.

If you’ve called before, they’ll ask you some security questions. These are simple – your date of birth or postcode. Data security is important, so you must answer these correctly to continue.

They’ll ask what your call relates to. This is to make sure you get the right support, as quickly as possible. If a counsellor answers, and you need legal information, they will transfer you to an advisor and vice versa. In the unlikely event that the appropriate counsellor or advisor is unavailable, they’ll arrange a call-back at the best time for you. 

Health Assured provide both emotional support and practical guidance. The counsellors on the helpline will triage and provide early interventions. Individuals can take advantage of the helpline to work through their current situation.

This service can provide you with advice and support on a range of issues. These could be financial (helping with budgeting, helping address debt issues, managing finances), relationship related (issues with family, problems with relationships at work), career (challenges with workplace scenarios), as well as issues of anxiety, stress and depression. 

If an individual has any practical concerns, Health Assured’s legal advisors can help. They will provide information and guidance on issues such as:

• Writing a will
• Divorce procedures
• Probate costs
• Property and partnership rings
• Tenancy and housing concerns
• Boundary disputes
• Motoring issues
• Immigration information

This service is designed to support in line with the short-term solution focussed model that Health Assured adopts, which includes in-the-moment support via the 24/7/365 confidential telephone helpline.

The service is not designed to provide long-term support or act as an alternative to emergency services. If longer-term support is required, then Health Assured can signpost you to the best places and provide in-the-moment support whilst you seek alternative support.

Diagnosis of a medical condition or prescription of treatments is not covered under this service. 

Health Assured deliver short-term solution focussed support, in line with up to 6 sessions of structured support, per issue, per year.

A short assessment will be completed prior to any structured therapy, to ensure that the short-term solution-focused counselling is clinically safe and appropriate for you.

In line with the principles of Beneficence and Non-maleficence set out in the BACP ethical framework, Health Assured ask that individuals who have accessed counselling through the EAP and wish to continue privately with an affiliate counsellor, paying for this themselves, that they wait for three months before commencing further therapy. This protects the individual and counsellor from emotional and financial issues relating to a potentially inappropriate referral and the employer involved for the same reason.

In these instances, Health Assured will ensure that clients are not left unsupported and will explore other forms of support which the client may be able to access until further counselling can be offered. If the individual is happy for Health Assured to contact them to discuss this further, it can be arranged.

All counsellors sign a covenant which prohibits them from continuing with EAP clients in a private capacity without at least three months passing. As such if they breach this covenant there are potentially serious consequences for the working relationship between counsellor and EAP, which in turn affects Health Assured’s ability to support employees who have been referred to the counsellor in question. 

Simplyhealth have partnered with HealthHero to provide their Physiotherapy Assessment services to our customers.

HealthHero has been clinically chosen by Simplyhealth to provide this Physiotherapy Assessment service and together we work to deliver a trusted service to our customers.

By booking a consultation you are agreeing to HealthHero’s terms and conditions and consenting to data being collected and shared for legitimate purposes as detailed in HealthHero’s privacy policy.

You can access the telephone number for this service via your SimplyPlan App. This can also be found via your Simplyhealth portal, under myWellbeing. Video Physiotherapy Assessments will be available shortly.

When you call to book an appointment, a member of their Customer Services Team will answer your call and take a few details, such as name, preferred contact number and some information about the nature of the concern so that they can supply the most suitable Adviser. At the time of your appointment, you will receive a call from one of their highly experienced Advisers who will deliver the assessment and provide appropriate advice and support.

A HealthHero experienced MSK (Musculoskeletal) Adviser will then call you within 4 working hours of your call or at a time suggested by yourself to discuss your health concerns.

Consultations are delivered by telephone, appointments are available Monday to Friday between 9am and 5.30pm and have a duration of approximately 30 minutes, which allows the Adviser to understand the specific nature of the problem and to provide appropriate advice, guidance and where necessary, signposting to useful resources and information, such as links to home-exercise videos or other services.

Many general aches and pains can be addressed via guided ‘self-help’ from an experienced Adviser. Advisers can provide early intervention and education to help you make proactive changes and reduce the risk of minor problems becoming more serious.

Where it’s beneficial, they will share remedial and lifestyle information, exercises and guided videos to support you in feeling better, faster.

This service is not designed to treat more significant conditions or provide ongoing treatment, however, where necessary, the Advisers will signpost to the most appropriate course of action for you.

The MSK (Musculoskeletal) Advisers have a variety of skills, experience, and qualifications such as Physiotherapy and Sports Therapy. They are all registered with the appropriate clinical bodies, undertake regular CPD, internal training and have regular supervision sessions.

The highly experienced multidisciplinary team includes Registered Mental Health

Nurses, Counsellors, Physiotherapists and Sports Therapists, who have a variety of skills, experience, and qualifications. All are registered with the appropriate professional bodies, undertake regular continuing professional development, internal training and have regular clinical supervision sessions.

All Advisers have a minimum of two years’ experience in performing their specialism remotely.

The advisers will carry out a comprehensive assessment, to get a complete understanding of your lifestyle and the factors which may be causing your symptoms. The Advisers are experienced in understanding the links between personal and work lives and how these impact our physical wellbeing. You will be asked about:

• the clinical symptoms, onset, triggers and how these are affecting you.
• any factors in your personal and work life such as family illness, job type, work/life balance.
• how well you look after yourselves, as we know there is a big link between physical wellbeing and lifestyle factors. This would include height, weight, diet, and exercise.

The advisers will provide you with education about why you are likely to be experiencing the current symptoms. This would include advice on lifestyle changes and exercises that you can implement to manage and maintain your own health more effectively.

They may also send self-help information after the call by email, such as nutrition or exercise videos.

They can also signpost to useful information, online resources and potentially to other relevant services.

• This service is not available to under 18s.
• This service should not be used in an emergency or for more serious physical conditions. This service does not provide access to ongoing treatment or support.
• This service does not prescribe medication.

This service is designed to provide education, self-help and signposting to other beneficial information and resources. It does not provide direct access to any treatment or interventions, for example: physical physiotherapy; chiropractic; osteopathy. Therefore, the service can only be used once for each type of condition. If the Adviser identifies that you may benefit from ongoing treatment or further help, we will recommend you visit your GP.