"With 120,000 people of working age diagnosed with cancer every year in the UK, access to cancer support is more important than ever."
- John Hyde, chief marketing officer at Unum UK
Of those surveyed, 60% of SME managers said they have found or would find it hard to talk to employees about their cancer diagnosis and treatment, but 80% said they felt responsible for providing support to family members of employees living with cancer.
Consequently, Unum UK has integrated cancer support services provided by Reframe into its health and wellbeing app, Help@hand. The employee benefits provider believes this cancer support will benefit over a million employees (as well as eligible family members) who have an employer-paid critical illness or group life policy.
Unum UK critical illness policies will grant employees access to 2 years of ongoing personal support following a cancer diagnosis. Employees will also have a dedicated cancer support manager for continuity of care, supported by a Reframe cancer nurse specialist with access to trusted clinicians and wellbeing specialists. These nurses can sit in (in-person or on the phone) on medical appointments so that employees can understand the medical terminology.
This support is available for employees and eligible family members on the Reframe portal, with additional app-based support via Cancer Assist, providing access to cancer support managers at every stage of their cancer journey.
Commenting on these findings, John Hyde, chief marketing officer at Unum UK, has said:
“At Unum we are constantly listening to feedback and innovating to make our services as seamless as possible. The integration of cancer support into Help@hand is a natural progression of our evolving digital proposition, giving employees access to health and wellbeing services in one easy-to-use app.
“Integrating Reframe into Help@hand helps employees take control of their cancer journey and gives them a place to go for guidance, deal with their diagnosis, and discuss the support they need, whether it’s continuing to work or returning to work with more confidence.”
