Aviva DigiCare+ Workplace

It's important for us all to look after our physical and mental health. The Aviva DigiCare+ Workplace app can help you do this, offering a range of health-related benefits. Giving access to a large network of medical professionals.

The app and services are available to employees insured under one of Aviva's Group Protection policies. And are provided by Square Health. They're noncontractual benefits that Aviva can change or withdraw at any time.

Terms and conditions apply. These can be viewed within the app and must be agreed to before use. The privacy policy can also be viewed in-app before signing up. The app and services are available to employees who are permanent residents of Great Britain, Northern Ireland the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man. There may be limits to the number of times these services can be used. Full allowances can be checked within the app.

We all know how important it is to keep on top of our health, but we don't always give it the attention it needs.

Aviva DigiCare+ Workplace offers an annual health assessment through a quick self-administered fingerprick blood test which can be taken at home and posted back to Square Health for analysis.

The test looks at 20 different health markers to help spot problems early on including the risk of diabetes, cholesterol status and liver health.

Test results are received in a personalised health report which will include any recommended courses of action. A regular health check can help keep on top of health concerns, detect issues early and prevent future health problems.

It's not always easy to get a doctor's appointment so the digital GP service helps to provide a solution for non-emergency health matters.

Available between 8am and 8pm, 7 days a week, and offers 20- minute video consultations with a registered GP. Available to you and your eligible family members, it offers medical advice and guidance and the peace of mind of being able to speak to a doctor quickly.

There's an option to view GP biographies before booking a consultation and to keep the same GP for multiple appointments. Simply complete a short section within the app to give some health background, then book the appointment.

With appointments usually available within 3 hours, it offers fast flexible access to medical advice.

Medication costs apply and if the next day at home delivery service is selected, then delivery charges will also apply.

This service is useful for everyday medical issues which normally mean a visit to the GP.

An initial diagnosis can come as a huge shock so a second opinion could offer new information and give some peace of mind.

The second medical opinion service gives access to a network of UK based clinical experts covering physical and mental health conditions.

They can provide their medical opinion on a diagnosis originally given by a primary UK treating consultant.

Aviva DigiCare+ Workplace allows you to share your second medical opinion consultations with your eligible family members. It offers face to face, telephone or in app consultations, a medical expert is then chosen based on their field of expertise or location.

Once the necessary medical records are gathered the experts will review the case and issue a report detailing their diagnosis and recommended treatment plan. A second medical opinion could offer the confidence to make important decisions about health and treatment paths.

Mental health is as important as physical health, acting quickly to prevent and detect mental wellbeing issues and getting help as early as possible can make a big difference.

Aviva DigiCare+ Workplace Mental Health Consultations offers you and your eligible family members quick access to tailored advice from qualified therapists.

Whether its workplace stress, money worries, big changes in life or other events that can affect our mental wellbeing, this confidential service can help.

Generally, within 48 hours patients can get advice from a psychotherapist or cognitive behavioural therapist by video or phone, from the privacy of their own home. It could help avoid potential NHS waiting times and private treatment costs.

Therapists provide advice and devise a personal treatment plan and if needed can signpost to further support. It also provides emotional support if faced with bereavement.

It makes good sense to establish a healthy relationship with food, nutrition affects our physical and mental health and wellbeing. Understanding more about it can help reset relationships with food and encourage long term lifestyle changes.

Through Aviva DigiCare+ Workplace, nutritionists offer advice on healthy eating plans and encourage accountability for food choices and help to break bad habits.

You have access to thirty-minute consultations with a trained nutritionist, which you can share with your eligible family members.

The nutritionist will develop a tailored personalised plan based around lifestyle factors such as sleep and stress. The advice aims to help establish relevant and achievable goals, focused around nutrition and lifestyle strategies.

For more information about our products and Aviva DigiCare+ Workplace please visit us online.

Lisa Boote: Hi, and welcome to this one of a series of five webinars around the five services accessible through the Aviva DigiCare+ and Aviva DigiCare+ Workplace app.

My name is Lisa Boote, one of the protection distribution managers here at Aviva and I'm joined today by Doctor Morven Telling.

Hi, Morven.

Dr Morven Telling: Good morning.

Lisa Boote: Before we begin, I just wanted to highlight that the Aviva DigiCare+ app is available with eligible individual protection policies and the Aviva DigiCare+ Workplace app, is available with all of our group protection policies.

The apps and services are provided by Square Health and are non-contractual benefits, which Aviva can change or withdraw at any time. Terms and conditions and residency restrictions apply.

The digital GP service is one of the services available, offering 20- minute video consultations with the GP and is offering a quick and convenient solution for non-emergency situations.

It's designed to complement existing NHS treatment. The digital GP is a private doctor service offering access to clinical advice and guidance, as I said in non-emergency situations. It offers peace of mind, being able to speak to a doctor quickly.

You can book digital GP consultation seven days a week between 8:00am and 8:00pm at a convenient time to the user, but it's not a replacement for your own GP.

So Morven, if I could hand over to yourself just to introduce yourself and give a bit of background please.

Dr. Morven Telling: So yes, my name is Morven Telling. I've been a GP for the past 17 years and 10 years have been spent as a digital GP.

I've worked for Square Health for six years and I just really enjoy it. It's very flexible. It's interesting. I love that I can talk to patients from all over the UK and sometimes even when they're abroad on holidays and it's a really varied, interesting job.

Lisa Boote: It sounds it.

So, Digital GP means different things to different people. Can you explain the parameters of the service please?

Dr. Morven Telling: So yes, of course it's an online GP service. It's provided by GPs who are based in the UK and are registered with the GMC, The General Medical Council.

Users can select a GP of their choice. They can go into the app and look at the biographies of different GPs and select them according to gender, or the specialities that the various GPs have.

As you mentioned, appointments are available seven days a week between 8:00am to 8:00pm, and in the vast majority of cases, users are able to book an appointment within 24 hours. I think in 2023, 99% of appointments were available within that time frame.

So, when clinically appropriate, GPs can provide private prescriptions, which are sent electronically to the user or their chosen pharmacy. There are there are charges for these as they are private prescriptions. We can also provide referral letters and fit notes.

So there's an awful lot that can be achieved and done by us during a consultation, we can also provide advice and signposting when necessary as well.

The appointments can be shared between the user but also with their partner or spouse and any children or dependents up to the age of 18, in full-time education up to the age of 21, which can be really helpful as well.

And family members do need to be added to the app in order to use the service.

And once the user has used up all their sort of allocated allowance of appointments, they can actually purchase additional ones as well.

Lisa Boote: Fantastic.

And I know, as you mentioned up to 21 in full-time education, my son's just gone off to university in Manchester and I was thinking, what if he needs to speak to a doctor? What's the situation because his doctor is here in Wales, but he thankfully has got access to this as well.

Dr. Morven Telling: Yeah, that could be so helpful and reassuring for parents as well.

Lisa Boote: Yeah, definitely.

So you've mentioned obviously quite a few things there, but what can the service actually be used for?

Dr. Morven Telling: Most of the things that you'd normally see a GP for.

I think it's very important to be aware that this is not an emergency service, so if someone had acute chest pain, or severe abdominal pain, or a suspected broken bone, it does need to still go through to the NHS emergency channels, A&E or 999.

But there are so many different areas that we can provide advice and care for.

In 2023, the most common symptoms the service was used for was skin conditions, for example, a new rash, or to check if a mole has changed, for example, people can run that past us.

They can attach photos to the consultation notes. That could be really helpful. We can zoom in and have a really good look.

Joint and muscular problems, such as strains, ankle sprains, ligaments, knee pain. All of those are frequently consulted about, as is women's health, problems with periods or menopause, contraception.

And a large area as well is minor illnesses, so colds, coughs, flus, tonsillitis for people of all ages.

We can also give advice and guidance on more chronic health conditions. People can book in to ask for advice about raised blood pressure and cholesterol. So theres-it's a huge, wide scope of things that we are consulted about.

Lisa Boote: And it's often these things that affect an individual's mental health or productivity in the workplace, etc. So being able to speak to somebody at a convenient time to you is brilliant.

So, if I was to book an appointment, what could I expect?

Dr. Morven Telling: Consultations you would book through the app, and the normal route would be a video consultation so users would be advised to log into the app and join the consultation a few minutes before the appointment was due to start, and then the GP also joins.

If there was a problem with the connection then we always phone on the mobile phone number provided as well, so it usually is able to go ahead even if there's video connection difficulty.

It's important to be aware that users can consult from anywhere in the world, so you can be on holiday abroad and still be able to use this service as long as you've got Internet or Wi-Fi.

If a prescription's needed when users are abroad, that can be a bit of a a problem because we wouldn't be able to prescribe for users to use abroad. We can do a prescription for them to use when they came back to the UK, but obviously if immediate medication was needed then they would need to see a local doctor or go to a local hospital.

We can provide advice though, so there's a lot of things that can they can get advice from a pharmacy and we can help direct that.

So when we've established connection, then the GP would talk through, check identity and then ask about why the user has booked the consultation, talk about the current health concerns. Also check how long symptoms have been going on for and past medical history as well, which includes medication and sometimes family history as well, if that's relevant.

Once we've established what's going on, we try and make a diagnosis. And talk about what the what the user would like to happen, what have they booked in wanting? Are they after a referral or advice? Are they wanting to know what's best to do next or a prescription for example, or a fit note?

And so we can then issue prescriptions if we feel that's clinically appropriate. As I mentioned, it's an electronic prescription. And we can also provide referral letters and fit notes for up to two weeks as well.

One of the fabulous things about this service is the fact that users then have access to their notes afterwards, which are available in the app. So they can see a summarisation of the consultation, they can see any advice that we've given them. We can also put links to websites which can be really helpful and informative, give more information, give things to look out for.

Also physio videos of someone's booked in with a musculoskeletal problem so it can be really, really helpful to include that for users as well.

Lisa Boote: Fantastic.

And I know when we put the DigiCare+ apps in, we very much wanted to have that holistic approach and that very connected approach.

So how does the digital GP service work with the other services? We have health check, nutrition consultations, mental health and second medical opinion as well.

Dr. Morven Telling: It's great. It's all interconnected. The aim has been to provide a really holistic service that's fully integrated and accessible.

So if during the consultation we feel that a user would really benefit from speaking to a nutrition expert or a mental health practitioner, then we can either advise that they book that themselves through the app or we can actually book an appointment with them during the consultation with us.

And yeah, so it just, it just connects all the services together and becomes a much more holistic experience for users.

Lisa Boote: How can you help if someone is on regular medication prescribed through their GP?

Dr. Morven Telling: So there is a repeat prescription service available. It's there to support users who require regularly prescribed medication from their own GP service, and users can register for this in the app, and they can then have home delivery of their regular medications.

In terms of charges, NHS exemptions are accepted, but if people aren't exempt, then there are dispensing costs, but they're the same as you would pay in the NHS. So, either with a prepaid certificate or with the non-exemption NHS charges.

Lisa Boote: Great. Well, thanks, Morven for that great overview of the digital GP service and thank you for taking the time to watch this webinar. If you would like to know more about both apps or have any questions, please contact your usual Aviva contact who'll be happy to talk through the benefits and also how to download them. If you are watching as a client, your intermediary or Aviva contact will be happy to assist.

Lisa Boote: Hi and welcome to this one of series of five webinars around the five services accessible through the Aviva DigiCare+ and Aviva DigiCare+ Workplace apps.

My name is Lisa Boote, one of the protection distribution managers here at Aviva and I'm joined today by Andrea Ryan.

Hi, Andrea.

Andrea Ryan: Hello.

Lisa Boote: Before I hand over to Andrea to give an introduction, I just wanted to highlight that the Aviva DigiCare+ app is available with eligible individual policies and the Aviva DigiCare+ Workplace app is available with all group protection policies. The apps and services are provided by Square Health and a non-contractual benefits Aviva can change or withdraw at any time. Terms and conditions and residency restrictions apply. The second medical opinion service is also available through the apps and offers users support navigating a medical diagnosis.

Andrea, if I could ask you to introduce yourself and give a bit of background to you and the service please.

Andrea Ryan: Absolutely. Thank you for the introduction. So, yes, I'm Andrea Ryan, I am a senior account manager at Square Health.

A little bit about my background. I've been in financial services and healthcare for getting on for 25 years.

In terms of the Second Medical Opinion Service, it's one of a number of services within the apps and hopefully some of you will tune in to the other webinars that we're going to be running.

But if we think about the Second Medical Opinion and why might somebody actually need a second medical opinion? What is the reason for the service and why do people use it and just reflect a little bit about that?

So I think that obtaining a second opinion in anything we do in life is kind of second nature to us now. So for example, my son's pretty grown up now, but those of you with younger children are starting to think about schools, whether it'd be primary school, whether it be secondary school, it might even be nursery. For those of you with young babies, you don't just sort of put them into the nearest local school, you would do your due diligence. You'll be looking at the Ofsted reports, you'll be talking to peers, friends, and colleagues in the area. And you'll go through a process.

Likewise, if you're looking at making a purchase like our homes, which is obviously one of the largest purchases that we will make, you won't just buy the first house. You'll register with different agents. You'll go and look at different properties and you'll take your time to find the right thing and feel comfortable with that and seek the advice of professionals being the estate agents.

Likewise, if you're buying a car. You're likely to probably test drive a few different models and makes, so you get to a point where you're comfortable with making a decision and start that negotiation process.

So if you think about it, why would we not do that with our health when it's even more important?

So ensuring that our diagnosis is correct and the treatment pathway that we're on is correct makes a lot of sense to me and hopefully to those of you listening today.

Lisa Boote: Yeah, definitely. That's a great analogy, as you say, to a normal life's ups and downs as well.

So what can the service actually be used for, Andrea?

Andrea Ryan: So just taking a little step back and thinking about how the services interact as well is something to touch upon, I think Lisa. If somebody's been given a diagnosis, whether it be for something serious and life threatening, or something life affecting, it can be quite an anxious time for them and potentially their partner or spouse as well.

So the fact that we have very comprehensive access to all the different services, so the digital GP, the mental health service, so on and so forth means that we can route people into different services at that time, as well as the second medical opinion.

So going back to anxiety, as a really good point, if I've had a diagnosis and I want to get comfortable with what's been offered in terms of treatments and that pathway, I might feel that I could do a support from an emotional point of view as well as a clinical point of view. So I would have access to perhaps look at the mental health services through the apps as well. And that’s really easy to do because it's all in the same place.

In terms of what can it be used for. We see cases across all different specialisms with the second medical opinion service. So whether it's orthopaedics, cardiology, oncology, dermatology, neurology, maxiophatial, you name it, we see it right across the board.

And as I mentioned earlier, it's not only for serious and life threatening conditions. It could be for something that is life affecting or life impacting. So for example, conditions like migraines, asthma, colitis, other stomach complaints.

Importantly, the service also offers access for psychiatric conditions, so it's not just limited to physical conditions. Let's look at Orthopaedics as a good example for an adult, it might be that a hip replacement has been suggested and again, you want to make sure that the treatment that's being suggested is the right thing for you. So having that available that available to engage with a consultant alongside your treating consultant can be really valuable just to get the peace of mind and the reassurance.

And of course the service is available to family members as well. So whether that's partner, spouse or children. So the whole family could be supported when there's decisions to be made and considerations. In terms of who can use the service and the sort of criteria, it's probably useful to touch on that. So we do require that the user has had a diagnosis by a primary UK treating consultant to be able to use the service. So if they've had a specialist complete their assessment and all the recommended tests have been carried out, and the results are available – so i.e. we've got all the information accessible to us to review what has taken place so far. Or a recent diagnosis has been made despite extensive investigations they're not able to actually confirm what the treatment should be, or there's queries over the diagnosis, so again we can help in that situation as well. Provide that information to a suitable consultant, for a second medical opinion. But the diagnosis and assessment must have been made by a General Medical Council registered specialist. So that means just not a GP or a dentist or a physiotherapist. So just for clarity there.

Lisa Boote: Brilliant and thanks for that clarity as well.

So, the service sounds brilliant, who provides the second medical opinion?

Andrea Ryan: Good question. Square Health was founded by, and is still run by doctors. So we're quite unique in the marketplace in that we are led and run by clinicians.

With over 15 years experience, we have built up a network of over 5,000 leading medical specialists, covering all key specialties and all subspecialties all around the UK.

We have access to consultants in all these particular specialties to be able to provide a service that is suitable for the individual, their condition, their circumstances, their particular concerns.

But it's important also to point out, that a second medical opinion doesn't take away anything from the treating doctor. And that is really, really key.

It's not unusual, and it's in fact very common practise for doctors to work together.

So for example many years ago my son was in hospital and he had what was what was called a multidisciplinary team working on his situation. So, you'll have doctors from different specialties, different subspecialties, and they'll all sort of come together to discuss the case because nothing's always very straightforward, there could be different complications.

So again, having that support of different doctors. Not every doctor knows everything. Not every doctor has experienced everything. So by having that second opinion, it can sometimes open up opportunities for the patients treating doctor to perhaps look at other options that they either haven't considered or weren't aware of and to be able to collaborate if you like with the information provided by the doctor given the second medical opinion.

This is something that goes on in hospitals all over the world, and across the UK.

So sharing that information with the treating doctor, the patient being able to share what they've been told can have many benefits. In some cases it can lead to different diagnostics and different treatment pathways.

It might just be that OK now I've had this second opinion and I'm really at ease and I'm have that peace of mind of going forward with whatever has been recommended.

Lisa Boote: That's good.

No, I was going to say that's great and huge reassurance.

Andrea Ryan: Absolutely it is certainly about that.

Also important, just to point out a couple of things.

The services intended not to provide treatment, it won't provide any further diagnostic tests it would that would be down to the patients and treating medical teams. So going back with the clinical outcome of their consultation and to be able to share that, and have that discussion with their treating doctor about what happens next.

Lisa Boote: Thank you.

So if anybody today is watching, what's the process, how to use the service?

Andrea Ryan: So like all of the services on DigiCare+ and DigiCare+ Workplace, they're all accessible through a single app. So once they're registered, they can go onto the app and they can organise an appointment to have an initial triage with one of our team.

The first appointment is generally as you might expect, a fact finding exercise. So it's aimed at obtaining all the relevant information about the individual's medical history. What tests have they had? Has there been treatment to date? Where their medical records might be.

So it's quite an extensive initial conversation with one of our specialist team.

If the individual at that point qualifies for second medical opinion, the triage team will then guide them through what happens next. For example, obtaining the medical records.

When I say if they qualify just to clarify what that means going back to what I said earlier. They need to have either had a diagnosis by a suitable consultant, or they need to have had the extensive test. If they're waiting for a scan, for example, and they've decided to contact with us, unfortunately at that time we wouldn't be able to provide a second medical opinion because the first opinion hasn't actually been determined at that point, it doesn't mean they can't come back to us at a later date, but when I say qualify, that's the sort of thing we we mean.

Lisa Boote: OK. Thank you.

Andrea Ryan: In terms of collection of the records, so our team will support the customers in obtaining the relevant medical records. They all have extensive knowledge of NHS systems. They've spent many years in medical admin themselves, so this really helps to guide the patient through the quickest route and holds their hands throughout that process again.

And it is important to note that, if, for example, going back to something not fitting the criteria at that time for a second medical opinion, maybe they're waiting tests or they get to see that specialist, we can still at Square Health, provide them with the support, so often we find that our team will signpost, and guide the individual to perhaps a GP service. So, we can do that. They can make an appointment there and then in that conversation at a time that's suitable for them.

So even if we're not able to help them in that particular, moment in time, we could still support them, still provide them with expert advice and support by passing them on to, as you say, the digital GP or a mental health expert.

So assume we’re on a happy path that we've got a user who has everything that they need and we can get under way with that, once we have the medical records our clinical team will then conduct a thorough clinical review of all the diagnostic tests, the clinic, letters, etc, etc.

Once that's been carried out, we can then arrange an appointment with a suitable private specialist, now that can be in a number of forms. It could be that it's face to face. It could be that it's in the app or by phone. And to be fair, that really depends on the individual circumstances and most importantly, it's very much patient led. So what is felt to be the best route for that individual, you know, is it suitable for them to have a face to face appointment? Would it be more beneficial for them to have it through the app as a virtual? And that would then be arranged.

After that consultation takes place, the second medical opinion consultant will provide the patient with all the details and their findings and recommendations. So it's at that point, once they're they're armed with all the information they've had that consultation, they've had all the outputs from that consultation, that's the time that the user can then share that information and any recommendations with their treating doctor to have a conversation about that.

Lisa Boote: Fab. I'm right in thinking that users are entitled to two of these a year that can be shared - so yes that's a great option because as you say for children, for example, us mums, dads will go the extra mile and do all our due diligence if it comes to their health, definitely. So that's great that it can be shared as well.

That sounded really thorough, Andrea. So how long does that SMO, second medical opinion process take? And how long does it take to get to see that specialist, you know, in a normal circumstance?

Andrea Ryan: OK. So obviously a really good question. It will depend, and it largely depends, on how quickly the medical records can be obtained, so GPs and hospitals should return those within one month. And I say should, and then of course those are reviewed by the clinical team and once that's approved, then we can make that appointment for the user with the private consultant and that would be subject to the usual appointment time.

So it can vary. But if we're on the happy path, it could be within a month to six weeks to go through that process.

Lisa Boote: That's great.

Going back to your previous comment about your back office team being medically trained and knowing how to navigate that system, that experience is invaluable and especially in my experiences with GP receptionists etc, being able to get medical evidence when GPs are really, really busy obviously nowadays. So that's great.

Well, thanks Andrea for the great overview of the Second Medical Opinion service. And thank you for taking the time to watch this webinar.

If you'd like to know more about both apps and or you have any questions, please contact your usual Aviva contact, who’ll be happy to talk through the benefits and how to download them. If you're watching as a client, your intermediary or Aviva contact will be happy to assist.

Lisa Boote: Hi ,and welcome to this one of a series of five webinars around the five services accessible through the Aviva DigiCare+ and Aviva DigiCare+ workplace apps.

My name is Lisa Boot, one of the protection distribution managers here at Aviva and I'm joined today by Paul Biddulph, one of the psychotherapists at Square Health.

Hi, Paul.

Paul Biddulph: Hi Lisa.

Lisa Boote: Before I hand over to Paul to give an introduction, I just wanted to highlight that the Aviva DigiCare+ app is available with eligible individual protection policies, and the Aviva DigiCare+ Workplace app is available with all our group protection policies. The apps and services are provided by Square Health and are non-contractual benefits. Aviva can change or withdraw at any time.

Terms and conditions and residency restrictions apply.

So today the mental health consultation service is available within the apps and it offers users quick access to tailored mental health advice from a qualified therapists.

So Paul, if I could ask you to introduce yourself and tell us a bit about yourself, please.

Paul Buddulph: Thank you, Lisa.

It's good to be always able to open the door and let users in to see what we offer on the mental health service.

As people may be able to tell, I'm Irish. I completed my training as a psychotherapist in Dublin where I was a part of a mental health support team with Technology University Dublin.

I moved to Wales about five years ago to be with my husband and, I'm actually celebrating my fifth year on the Square Health mental health team panel.

So starting off, I would have specialised in bereavement support and still do bereavement support, but I found life kind of sets the course for you a bit. So these days I also offer support in trauma care, LGBTQ+ issues and neurodivergent support as well.

Lisa Boote: Fantastic.

So mental health services. It’s obviously fantastic that we can offer it. We live in a really stressful environment, but I'm finding that people are getting better at acknowledging that sometimes we all do need a bit of help.

We know in Aviva the prevalence of mental health is high, so because, for example in our group protection claims in 2023, 50% of our referrals were for rehab, were for mental health mental health conditions.

And even from an individual or a corporate point of view, there's so many worries, like money worries, relationship backgrounds. We've had the cost of living and Paul you mentioned bereavement. And all of those things, as much as we think we're coping can obviously lead to episodes of poor mental health.

But what if that support isn't there?

When can we take a step to ask for help and that waiting time can lead to further declines in people's mental health and affect all areas of their lives. So fortunately, we have the Aviva DigiCare+ and Aviva DigiCare+ Workplace apps that can provide that solution.

We provide the service to eligible users and their eligible family members. Tailored mental health support is from qualified therapists, like Paul, in 30 minute sessions, appointments are normally available within 48 hours, which you know is absolutely amazing. In 2023, 100% of those appointments were available within 48 hours.

I know Paul and I'm not going to steal your Thunder. We'll go over this, but all of the councillors have Bio’s with headshots so you can actually select the counsellor who best suits your personal needs. And the service is really confidential so we don't share any information with any of our third parties, you know, and if you're a corporate client, nothing goes to your employer either.

But also the mental health part of our app fits very much with the connectivity of all of our other services under the app. So very much giving you that holistic approach to well-being. So Paul, I've talked quite a lot there, what types of mental health concerns do users look for when they come to you in the service?

Paul Biddulph: Absolutely.

Well, just first, even just a comment there, i what we're seeing now is that move towards people having the kind of confidence to show up for sessions just as they would show up to their doctor to get assurances and advice, which is really nice because we're moving away from that stigma. People are becoming less afraid to pick up the phone or join by video. So, some of the things that we would kind of come across.

I'll borrow from some statistics here, so in 2023, I’m gonna take anxiety, for example, that would have accounted for 33.8% of consultations.

Low mood and depression, that would have accounted for 26.5% and stress for about 15.2% of cases.

Now, as I do say to people you know, people, we don't just have one condition. We can have a mixture of a few together. But the thing that we're seeing here consistently is people are showing up and they're getting that kind of assurance and advice and support.

So whether someone is showing up for just one particular issue, which is absolutely fine, that's OK. Or people are showing up because actually it's developed a bit, there’s a couple of things going on for them, life has become a bit complicated. That's absolutely fine too.

So that's just an idea of some of the main statistics.

Now we do cover other areas too. Again, bereavement primary one there. We do LGBTQ support as well, and again, always important, our users are feeling like safe and confident. It's a great space just to get some questions answered, even further signposting, it depends on user to user with that one. Some people just need a space just to be visible on that, which is great.

We also cover things like financial stress, relationship matters.

One thing I'm seeing across the across the board there with our users, we're kind of like the first step for some people. So some people may need further advice from other services like for example, in the case of financial stress and it could be that actually our support there is like the first step they take just to have the confidence to accessing help. Or again for relationships, again people might be just looking for that space to ask some questions, to get some queries answered, and again that further support the kind of evaluation for just where their at with it, because again, no one's story is the same there.

What I would do is, I'll just expand a bit though, because there is a bit of a scope on the service there too. So, you know we do try to kind of keep things to what would be considered a mild to moderate range.

Unfortunately, because we are remote it means that we're a little limited when it comes to more kind of complex cases. So for example, support can be quite limited for cases like bipolar, psychosis, eating disorders. While it's very important people get the help and support, it's also very important that people are linking in with their local NHS for that one because certain conditions like that would require that more kind of complex and holistic approach there that would be quite difficult for us to deliver.

But again, the most important thing here is we can give that advice and that signposting, making sure that people are at least going in the right direction towards the advice support that they need.

Lisa Boote: Brilliant.

So you say people are obviously brave and making that first step. So what would somebody expect to see from that first mental health session?

Paul Biddulph: So I'm going to give a couple of examples here and some experience as well.

It's definitely, for some people, that I’ve observed, it's a difficult step for them, a very humble step. So picking up the phone, you know, starting the video up, the intense kind of anxiety that can come up there. But rest assured, you know, we're there ready on the other end to be that kind of like helpful supportive and, you know, calming space and also to address any concerns.

So from what I've observed, some people like to just jump straight in. Which fair play to them. Absolutely. Some people are like that are like that. Some people just need that first session to be a space where they can kind of like well, as I use the example, dip the toe in the water, check the temperature, ask some questions, feel comfortable and safe, get assurances.

So, what I'll talk about here is what to kind of expect.

For example, where we start off, we would do a bit of information gathering. So on a few fronts. We check to make sure all the details are up to date, make sure we have all the records up to date there too, because again, that's for the user's safety and security as well, so that we can offer the best of care and support.

Things that we would typically look to check for. We will look over, have they been to therapy before, their previous mental health history, this is again just to check familiarity.

Some people might be coming in and for them they've been through different therapeutic support before, and they might be looking for a different experience, which OK brilliant. Because a very important question there is, not just what works for the for the user, but also if there are things in the past that they've tried that haven't worked, so that we're not repeating, and you know giving them the service that they may not want.

So we'll look at the previous mental health history. We do check in terms of medication support as well. Are they in with their GP, are they taking any medication specifically for the mental health. Now we don't give specific advice on medication because that's out of our pay grade as I would joke, but that's the purview of the doctors.

But we are there to check in. Are they feeling OK on the medication? Have they noticed any symptoms there and signpost them to their doctor if there's any kind of rising concerns or questions that need answers to. So, we just have that kind of a check in there because some medications for mental health support can be – well results vary from user to user - and again people often look for that reassurance there, which you know we're happy to offer there.

The most important thing, what I hope people are gathering here is that we're looking to kind of create that consistency and trust, and you know in particular when it comes to trust in a session you know, consistency and honesty, you know that's what we're looking for there, being able to build that relationship, because it's a very profound thing for someone to be able to show up. It's also it's own separate, profound thing for them to be able to suddenly open up. So again, we're very happy and privileged to be able to offer that space.

And, you know, letting people set their pace, letting people come in, letting people talk and then people get that kind of like first step advice, that's what we're looking to kind of provide there.

I'll give some examples because you know there's no real set script we try to have a script in terms of what to kind of expect, in terms of the first session, but it really does vary.

So for example, some users that I found, they're looking for that kind of very goal orientated approach, which can be brilliant. Absolutely. They want to discuss their hopes, the goals, the aims and absolutely, you know, that's a very valid way of going about their session. OK.

Other people, they're looking for that space to be heard and visible, which is actually them setting their goals and hope anyway, it's just less structured. They prefer to be the one who's setting the pace themselves and going along naturally.

So we do adopt and change as much as possible, but we do try to generally find in the first session what's our user, what's our client trying to establish for themselves? What are they looking to get out of the session? What can we achieve together?

So definitely out of the first session we're going to be coming away with a plan and an assurance there and making sure that the user is comfortable and familiar with the service that we’re using, any questions they've had answered, and clarify any further points, and obviously invite them to ask any further questions.

I will say, and I will joke as well as you know, asking someone at the end of a 30 minute session can be quite intense if they have any questions. So obviously that they know that they can ask questions at any time too, regardless of the session that it's an equal and welcome space and that any questions will be welcomed.

Fantastic. And I know that if councillors felt that it was appropriate, they can also provide that additional cognitive behavioural therapy, self-guided modules in between the sessions. So as you say, somebody isn't just left to deal with things they can actually do some self-guided CBT work.

So how does that work with, you know, together complimenting the, I'll say face to face, but virtual consultation.

Paul Biddulph: Absolutely. So, this this is a great resource to be able to offer too. And we were even actually starting to see this deployed by the way, just when I had left Dublin, so it seems more popular.

We offer online CBT courses through Silver Cloud. And the way this works, it does vary from user to user, so it'll be the treating therapist who kind of determines appropriateness.

But what it is, it's a psychoeducational tool. It's an app that people would download and log into, and they're supported by their therapist.

Their therapist, like myself, would be on the other end. We'd be reviewing their progress so they would log on and interact with pre-prescribed programmes. So for example it could be a course on health anxiety, it could be a course on how to support ourselves through stress, and it would have tips, tools and educational materials so people can understand more about what they're experiencing.

It's designed to complement support as well. For some people they're at that point where they just need a bit of education, a bit of assurance, and some tools and techniques where they can feel assured and more in control over how they're feeling, which is great.

For some people, they have a lot to accomplish in the session, so they're looking to carry on some of the psychoeducational work or tools and tips more outside of the session space and then reserve the kind of video consultations for almost more of a deep dive or reflection on what they've discovered when doing online resource. Or if they've got their own tools, for example, is a great place for feedback too.

So again, how it works is the person would be reviewed, you know, the therapist and the user would actually agree upon a review date. So, it could be in a weeks time, two weeks, a month. It varies of course, but the user is able to give feedback through that app, so the attending therapist can see just what progress is being made, not for support, but encouragement. That might be unlocking more modules, so for example, in my experience, some of our users would have additional grief and unlocking that for them can be really useful. Or financial pressure and stress, again, there will be another example there.

Now it also can be that the user is requesting another video consultation, which is good again, absolutely welcome to do so. And we're seeing it now, people are able to book in more now, so if they need that they don't just have to wait for that feedback, they’re able to book in as well. It enables people to have that additional support. It's also serves a good point of contact as well, just to monitor just how our users are doing as well.

One other thing to add because I actually think this is a great tool, as well, on the online resources we do actually have that also ability to have testing, so monitoring people, in terms of, what their anxiety levels are as low mood levels and stress levels, for example. So, it can also be good, for those who are very data-driven, and I've definitely cancelled a couple of data analysts and in my time, it's also a nice representation in terms of progress so people can see how they're getting on with noticing any changes too. So it's important to mention that as well.

Lisa Boote: Fantastic. Thank you.

So if I was to say, how would you define a good outcome, talk us through how you see that.

Paul Biddulph: Absolutely. Good outcome - it definitely varies from user to user. So I'm going to describe an ideal outcome and then I'm going to again bring in personal experience and observation.

So an ideal outcome would be that the user feels like they have accomplished, what they've set out for their aims and their goals that they've come away with the tools and skills and tips in terms of how to manage the symptoms that they are managing.

Now that would be the ideal. Absolutely. That's what we aim for. But again, it varies from user to user.

So a good outcome for some users may be that they actually took the first step. You know that that could be a good outcome, and it may even just be in the one session that they have if that if that's where their thresholds at. So a good outcome for some person might be do you know what I made the first step and I began I'd begun to have a conversation.

Now as well as that for some people a good outcome for them, maybe, I took a step, but I know that I've got further to go on my journey, but actually, this is where I'm comfortable at for the moment. And I feel confident in being able to access support and I feel supported in the first place. So again, that's another good outcome to be aiming for what my.

What my ideal outcome would be. , so as well as what I've already kind of like said there, it would be to look for, you know, that the user’s had a very positive experience that they feel supported. But also that they've got the confidence in what psychotherapy and counselling can offer for them because, they can be daunting terms as well as a daunting conversation to have. So, it's important that they're stepping in and actually becoming familiar with that space and then actually leaving that space to having the kind of confidence that, if I need to check in again, I can absolutely do so. And absolutely, as well as I'd then be able to pass that kind of confidence and support on to other people who they may know who may need such services. Whether that's family members, or whether that's friends, who they may have similar cover or it could be just encouraging them to mental health services in general.

But it's again making you know, probably the most important point here in the in terms of the ideal outcome is that people feel counselling and psychotherapy is accessible.

Lisa Boote: Yes, and just listening to you there, I'm thinking to be able to go and tell somebody that you've had a really great experience having that counselling and recommending it to other people as you say that it's just, you know invaluable service.

So, who is the mental health governing body that the therapist at Square Health are registered with?

Paul Biddulph: This is also a great question. It's actually becoming a bit more of a hot topic as well, which is good to see.

So at the moment, all our all of our mental health professionals are registered. We do make sure that they're registered with an accrediting body, and I stress the word accrediting. So this could be the BACP, that's the British Association of Councillors and Psychotherapists. UKCP, similarly, NCPS, there's a few there.

Regulatory bodies at the moment, we don't have one yet, but counselling and psychotherapy, they are next on the list to be looked at in terms of regulation, joining alongside how doctors, physios and psychologists are all regulated and registered together.

Typically, for example, because it’s on my profile I'd be with the BACP, so I’m going to talk about why an accrediting body is very important here as well because again, it's important people have that insight.

While we're not regulated at the moment an accrediting body at least guarantees our users a quality of care. So joining an accrediting body like the BACP, we have to adhere to a strict ethical code we have to adhere to standards of care, meeting qualification standards too. And you know I don't mind saying the BACP is quite rigorous with that one, and I've heard similar as well with the UKCP and NCPS and another bodies as well, so there's good rigour that goes into making sure that the therapist is appropriately qualified. And that they are adhering to the standards that are set out for them by the organisation.

So, it's very important that a practising therapist is registered anyways with that body, but also just what it means for the users. It means then that actually when they're joining in for a conversation with a councillor or a psychotherapist that they can be assured that there's actually been checks and balances done and that they can expect a quality, that you're talking to, someone who takes their registration, their qualification, and their continuous practise seriously. Because it is, it is monitored and absolutely because you know, we should always be aiming to provide the best care at all times. So it's probably the best word I'm going to use here is assurance. It's that assurance of quality.

Lisa Boote: And I'm sure for people watching this that that's given them huge reassurance and trust, as you say, to, to be able to use the service.

Well, thanks, Paul for that great overview of the mental health consultations.

And thank you for taking the time to watch this webinar.

If you would like to know more about both apps or any questions, please contact your usual Aviva contact. We'll be happy to talk through the benefits and also how to download them.

If you're watching as a client, your intermediary or Aviva contact will be happy to assist.

And any stats that we've quoted have been from our 2023 stats, but please watch this space for our claims report, which will include 2024 stats.

Lisa Boote: Hi, and welcome to one of the series of five webinars around the five services accessible through the Aviva DigiCare+ and Aviva DigiCare+ Workplace apps.

My name is Lisa Boote and I'm one of the protection distribution managers here at Aviva, and I'm joined today by Doctor Morven Telling.

Hi Morven.

Dr. Morven Telling: Hello

Lisa Boote: Before I hand over to Morven to give an introduction, I just wanted to highlight that the Aviva DigiCare+ app is available with eligible individual protection policies, and the Aviva DigiCare+ Workplace app is available with all of our group protection policies.

The apps are provided by Square Health and are non-contractual benefits, Aviva can change or withdraw at any time. Terms and conditions and residency restrictions will apply.

So hi, Morven, if I could, ask you just to do a bit of a brief introduction, a bit of background, please?

Dr. Morven Telling: Yes, of course.

So I've been a GP for the more than 15 years now, and I've been a digital GP for over 10 years.

I've spent the last six years working with Square Health and I really enjoy it. It's a great job. It's very flexible, which is fantastic with my young family and it's a very varied and interesting job as well, consulting with people from all around the UK.

Lisa Boote: Great. Thank you.

So, the annual health check is one of the services available within the apps, which is a finger-prick blood test that users can do at home.

So, why is the health MOT so valuable to assess current health and future risk?

Dr. Morven Telling: It gives a snapshot of an individual's health in a, in a space of time. It's a really useful kit that's posted out and it's easy to use and it cheques all sorts of different health parameters, such as cholesterol, liver function, kidney function and for diabetes as well.

So, when you look at a health check, the reason you do one is to see what's going on in the body. Is there anything that you could do to

improve your health, or are there any sort of concerns that you ought to be acting on.

There are certain conditions, for example raised cholesterol, whereas if you sort of act to reduce cholesterol levels if they're raised, they actually can have a huge impact on your future health. And in 2023 over 55% of health checks that would returned did identify high cholesterol levels. And so those are people that would then be able to act on, that information.

All users who undertake a health check can consult with a GP to discuss their results and talk about any necessary actions that are required, especially if there are any abnormal results. And in 2023 over 10,000 users who received the health check report did arrange a follow up digital GP appointment.

In some cases, it's talking about dietary and lifestyle changes. In other situations, it can be really helpful to refer on to the other services in the app, for example, the nutrition specialist. And GPs can actually make an appointment during the GP appointment as well.

Sometimes it can be necessary to refer back to an NHS GP if further testing is needed or for future monitoring.

Lisa Boote: Right. And what can a user expect from the test?

Dr. Morven Telling: So it’s, It's a kit that you order. You can order it in the app.

It's dispatched within 48 hours, and then when you receive it, you have 90 days to complete the test and return it. It comes in a very helpful prepaid box that you just pop back into the post.

And in the last year, Square Health has been making changes to the health kits to reduce the amount of single use plastics and they've now achieved a 70% reduction, which is really helping to achieve some sustainability goals.

The kit uses a finger-prick test, blood, method to, to get the results and it's very straightforward and simple. It comes with instructions and there's a really handy video that users can watch that just talks through the all the steps and makes it very, very easy to follow.

It is important that the instructions are followed as closely as possible to provide the required sample, and to minimise the chance that the sample gets sort of spoiled. But as if that happens, then sometimes the results aren't able to be processed. The tests can't actually be processed by the machines in the lab.

It's also best not to return the test kit on Friday or at the weekend, because again, a delay in getting the kit back to the lab can also result in a problem with the processing.

If a sample does arrive and there's a problem with it due to the sort of instructions not being followed or a postal delay, a further kit can be dispatched to try again.

Once the lab's received the blood sample, they test for over 20 health parameters, health markers, including, as I mentioned, kidney health, liver, cholesterol. It also checks uric acid, which is a marker for the risk of gout, and importantly, blood glucose to check for diabetes or pre-diabetes.

Lisa Boote: Right. So, any concerns that get highlighted obviously, on that report, how does it show in the report? And what do you do about any red flags? How do you handle those?

Dr. Morven Telling: So once the sample has been processed, the report is available to download within the Aviva Digicare+ and the Aviva Digicare+ Workplace apps. It's usually available within 5 days of the sample being processed, but in actuality it's usually within two days in most circumstances.

It's laid out, in a really easy to interpret way. It uses a traffic like system of red, amber and green. So if, if a result is normal, everything will beshown within the green and it will be flagged up as just saying normal, normal results all within the, you know, expected range.

So, if something's borderline or just slightly outside of the normal range, it's usually put in the amber. And if it was significantly outside the range or becoming a bit more concerning, then you'd see it in the red.

This helps as well when we're discussing the results through with the GP in a follow up consultation.

So yes, all users are able to book in with a GP. That's particularly important if there are abnormal results so that they can be talked through and any advice given.

If there's a need to act, then GP’s can give advice, signpost as to whether they need to go and see their NHS GP for further testing or monitoring.

Sometimes with blood tests it's actually just really important to repeat the test. For example, if a blood glucose was abnormal, you wouldn't diagnose diabetes straight away. You would want to have another test and then investigate further if it continued to be abnormal.

So we can, as we've discussed before, refer on to the other, in app services and which means that the health check is really interconnected and holistic.

It looks at, you know, being able to provide lots of different options and management plans for the user.

If a worrying, if a really worrying or a significant health risk was identified during the testing, then it is flagged up and a GP would contact the user individually to flag up the concerns and to provide advice and guidance.

Lisa Boote: That's fantastic.

And I think it's great that you have that. I'm going to say complementary GP consultation because that's in addition to the digital GP allowances under the health check app as well. So that's great.

So you've gone through a couple of conditions etc there, what's the most common concerns that the reports do show up?

Dr. Morven Telling: Well, the cholesterol is often the one that needs to be discussed even if everything was normal, if the cholesterol was right at the upper end of normal, we'd still probably have a bit of a, you know, just say what better watch this. Let's have a chat about lifestyle and ways you can make sure you keep it in the green.

So, as we said 55% of users it identified high cholesterol, so I think that's definitely the area that is the most common area of concern for users.

Another area would be abnormal liver function. That is often discussed during health consultations about this and abnormal liver function, it can be very borderline and sometimes it can just be a very temporary situation. Things like a viral illness can sometimes affect the liver, and it can cause a brief spike and then right back down again. So, the most important thing there would be repeating. Signposting to an NHS GP to check it again, repeat and investigate further if needed.

And it’s really important that users are aware they can have annual, annual checks.

Lisa Boote: Yeah, that's good. I think that's great because obviously we've seen repeat users that are actually monitoring and seeing the improvement year after year.

Dr. Morven Telling: It's fantastic the way they can do that. So it's really good to keep an eye on the cholesterol levels, in particular, I think.

Lisa Boote: Okay. So, can you summarise what the patient should expect from the GP follow up appointment? So, for example you mentioned that pre-diabetic stage, what next steps would the GP be able to help with would it be lifestyle, medication and you mentioned nutrition referrals etc?

Dr. Morven Telling: Yeah. No. Absolutely.

So any user who books in to talk about their the health screen, we would want to talk through any concerns. We talk through the results, discuss any abnormal results. We need to look at it in a wider picture. So it's really important to ask the user about their current health, have they got any symptoms or health concerns that are worrying them? And, also check on the medical history, medication, family history, to get an overall view of a user's health and a medical status.

Depending on what area and if it’s a completely normal set of results, which you know, we’d be very encouraging and saying all's going great. Keep going. Be encouraging.

Asking as well about smoking. If they smoke, encouraging them to stop.

And then if there were concerns that were identified, for example, the cholesterol, or a raised blood glucose. Depends what it is. If it's borderline cholesterol, we'd be talking lifestyle management. We can put advice and links into the notes for users to access later, after the

consultation. They can click on the web links and find plenty of information, helpful websites.

We can also refer to the nutrition specialist if needed.

If we've identified that they're stressed or have mental health concerns, we can refer to the mental health practitioners, and we can book the appointments in the during the consultation with the other specialists, which, as I said, it's just that lovely holistic approach to it all.

There are times though, with particularly things like significantly abnormal liver function, or the if the blood glucose is abnormal, then you would be wanting to have a have an appointment with an NHS GP in the near future. You'd be wanting to repeat the test. As I said, it's really important to get another blood test, not just diagnosing and treating off of one test.

And in the meantime you can give the advice, you can advise not to drink any alcohol if there's concern about the liver, you can start giving advice about diet and exercise, particularly important with raised cholesterol and raised blood glucose. We wouldn't be recommending starting medication because, as I said, it's really important to establish whether another blood test to double check everything. And then obviously in the future things would need to be monitored, they may need blood tests to check the effect of the medication on their body, so that's best done through the NHS GP. But the user is able to share the notes with their NHS GP, they can share the results of the blood tests and so it's great that they can communicate with their NHS GP like that.

Lisa Boote: That's great.

So, well, thanks, Morven for that great overview of the annual health check and thank you for taking the time to watch this webinar. If you'd like more to know more about both apps or have any questions, please contact your usual Aviva contact who'll be happy to talk through the benefits and also how to download them. If you're watching as a client, your intermediary or Aviva contact will be happy to assist.

Any stats quoted have been from our 2023 stats, but please watch this space for our claims report, which will include our 2024 stats.

Lisa Boote: Hi and welcome to this one of a series of five webinars around the five services accessible through Aviva DigiCare+ and Aviva DigiCare+ Workplace apps. My name is Lisa Boote, one of the protection distribution managers here at Aviva. I'm joined today by Sam Beckinsale, a nutritional consultant. Hi, Sam.

Sam Beckinsale: Hi, Lisa.

I'm Sam and I have the fabulous job, being able to head up this lovely team of nutrition consultants that you can find on your DigiCare+ service app.

I'm a nutrition consultant and I also have a background in personal training, and I've probably got about 10 years of experience now of coaching people to support their health goals and achieve, you know, feeling their best selves.

I never stop learning. I love learning and I'm right in the middle of a master's in clinical nutrition. So I just keep going and going even after 10 years.

But I think one of the things that's important about both myself and the rest of the team is that we all have other things going on in our lives. For example, you know, we might be mums or dads, we may have fur babies if we don't have adult ones, we may have elderly parents, we work full time, we've got homes, we've got partners and spouses. So basically we have lots of things going on our lives. So we also know what it's like to juggle, trying to achieve our health goals, as well as looking after everything else that's going on. So we sort of give very realistic advice and I think that's what we're going to talk about today, isn't it, Lisa.

Lisa Boote: It is. Yeah. Thanks Sam.

So before we start going through, obviously the service, I just wanted to highlight that the Digi Care apps are available with eligible individual protection policies and the Aviva Digicare+ Workplace app is available with all group protection policies, the apps and services are provided by Square Health and a non-contractual benefits and Aviva can change or withdraw them at any time. But that terms and conditions and residency restrictions do apply.

The nutritional consultation service is one of the services within the app that offers users 30 minute consultations with a trained nutritionist, like Sam, to get advice and guidance on optimal eating plans and how to break habits.

So Sam, you've obviously done a quick introduction to yourself and I was just going to set the scene really to say that people have access to the six consultations per year with a qualified nutritionist.

The service is available between 9:00 and 5:00 Monday to Friday. And as you've said, nutrition is not just for New Year's resolutions. I know that's usually a time where all of us start setting our goals, but more importantly, it's actually starting to have a healthy lifestyle change and obviously keep into it. So Sam, why would and could someone need a nutritionist?

Sam Beckinsale: So we have lots and lots of different reasons that people come to chat to us on the service. It could be, for example, that you've had a recent health MOT and you may have been told by your doctor that your cholesterol result is a little bit higher than is ideal, or perhaps your blood pressure is, and nutrition and lifestyle can absolutely help to manage that, and in fact, even decrease it in most circumstances, so that that could be a common reason for people to come and have a chat to her us.

It might be about weight management. So this time of year, sometimes it's losing weight after the Christmas excesses, but equally we have people that need to gain weight or gain muscle, or they might be working towards some kind of sporting event. So they're thinking about nutrition and performance for the event that they might have coming up.

It might be supporting a vegetarian or a vegan diet and lifestyle and making sure that you're optimising good health whilst making these decisions. We can support with that as well.

Sometimes there's no specific end goal, it's just that people want to have a better understanding of how to make good decisions and to have a really good relationship with food and to, you know, be a role model for their families and things like that.

So, there's there's a whole host of things and actually a lot of us do know more about nutrition than we than we realise, but they can be a lot of kind of myths out there and a lot of confusion and conflicting information. And we can help to kind of see through that and help you to find out what the right decision is for you and your lifestyle.

And as I sort of alluded to, you know, we know that life is a bit of a juggle, isn't it? And we have to deal with everything else that life has for us from, from work and family matters and trying to balance in looking over after your own health at the same time can be challenging. So we can help with planning and organisation and hints and tips around how to do that for your best outcome.

So I mean, there's probably others I've forgotten there, but you know that's a that's a pretty good snapshot of some of the common questions and queries we get asked.

Lisa Boote: And I know that the app is obviously very holistic. So something that comes up on a health check, which is a webinar, another webinar in the series and people can actually, as you say, it’s come up with high cholesterol on their annual health check, then they can obviously have that longer discussion and put things in place for that.

So that's Brill, so, we've made the brave decision to make this consultation and set an appointment for the consultation. And what can we expect and how do we go about getting to you lovely people?

Sam Beckinsale: So you're able to book an appointment through your app so you can put in your preferred date and time and some choices will come up.

You'll also see that the consultants that are available at the dates and times that you are available will have some kind of bio. So you'll be able to have a little read and pick between us to see if there's somebody that either would appear to specialise, particularly in something that you want to discuss, or perhaps they just resonate a little bit more with you and you would feel more comfortable talking to them. So you get to choose which is a is a nice thing to be able to do.

And then yes, the first consultation you have with us, it's nothing to worry about at all. You're going to be led through a bit of a journey, your consultants going to want to learn a little bit more about you and your lifestyle. We want to get to understand exactly what you want to achieve, but also what challenges and barriers you might have to achieving that goal or that health outcome.

So we're going to ask you lots of very holistic questions. We're going to talk to you about what you're eating and drinking. Now, of course, we're also going to talk to you about your movement and exercise. You know, we want to know, what does, what does the day mean for you? Are you sat at a desk on a screen for the majority of it? Lots of us are. Or are you somebody that has to be up on your feet moving around all the time? That's key information for us to help you make the best decisions for you with your food and other lifestyle choices.

We also want to know about things like your sleep, and your stress and your stress management. So we're looking at you as a whole person.

So that first session is going to be a lot of information gathering and getting to know each other and understanding where we go next. We then help you to establish a series of small habit changes that are going to set you in the direction that you need to go, and you'll be supported across the six consultations on your journey towards whatever it is that you're trying to achieve.

Or, maybe you just come over for questions. And of course, we could just answer those questions and that's absolutely fine as well.

We can book the follow up for you if that's what you need us to do. Or you can use your app again afterwards.

If we feel for some reason that we're not the right person or people to be looking after you in your situation, we will be able to sign post you to where might be the best place to get the information or the support that you need.

Or, sometimes it's a bit of a multidisciplinary situation and it could be that apps speaking to a GP or somebody in the mental health or counselling section to support your journey would be the best way forward for you. And we can also help with that as well.

Lisa Boote: That's brilliant. So I'm sure people watching this today are thinking great, fantastic service. Who can use the service?

Sam Beckinsale: So you're able to share this service with your partner/spouse and children as well, so it's only suitable for children aged 12 and over. If they are still a child, so under the age of 18, you do need to be as a parent present with them in any consultation, or perhaps you might prefer to have the consultation as your own to look after and support the child, it's up to you whether you feel you're including them.

I think actually as I understand it, that dependence up to the age of 21, if they're still in full time education, can still also be a part of this service as well. So yeah, so it's brilliant. It really does look after the whole family, it's really good.

Lisa Boote: That's fantastic.

And how can someone with a long-term existing conditions such as IBS benefit from the service?

Sam Beckinsale: Yeah. OK, that's that's interesting.

So occasionally there might be a scenario where we're not the right person for you. If you have got a chronic medical condition, then we might need to signpost you. However, that such as IBS, for example,

that's a very good example, we can support in sort of nutrition lifestyle decisions to support, for example, your overall gut health. So looking at your gut bacteria and supporting that and helping it to thrive.

We can look at how stress has an impact upon our gut health and our digestive system. We can look at the type of movement and exercise you do and what impact that would have.

So we would look at the person as an individual and we would try to give you the right hints and tips to modify your situation, to support and manage those symptoms that you're experiencing that you obviously aren't enjoying at that particular stage.

Lisa Boote: Exactly. OK, so fasting seems to be really popular at the moment. If someone was in a period of fasting, can this service help them to optimise their nutrition intake and health as well?

Sam Beckinsale: Yes, of course. Absolutely. We do get asked about fasting, not for cultural reasons, sometimes, you know, people ask about it as a tool.

As we said, we treat everybody as an individual. It's a very holistic service. So we will sit with you and work out what your needs are. So yes, it would be a great idea if you're using fasting for cultural reasons or for other reasons, health reasons to get the low down on how to optimise, what to do in between and what should you be eating at those times in your eating windows. Definitely be a good idea.

Lisa Boote: Thank you.

And obviously I've mentioned it and you've obviously mentioned it how the app is very much connected. So how does the nutrition consultation service work with the other services - the health check, digital GP, mental health consultations and the Second Medical Opinion services?

Sam Beckinsale: Yeah. We definitely find that users are able to use multiple of the services at a time to support their needs. So, for example, I think the health check is a good example of this. So the health check can take place and the client in question will always speak to a GP about their results in first instance. That's really important, of course, to interpret those results appropriately.

But then a booking in with us, we can look at what nutrition and lifestyle can do to support that blood test result or something that's slightly undesirable.

We also know that sometimes we have lovely clients with us and they're under huge amounts of stress and pressure in life for whatever reason. And therefore managing their food choices and fitting in movement and exercise around these pressures and stresses, is very, very difficult and sometimes some support from the mental health services is a really good idea to help them set in place a little bit of balance in there. We love to work together, we always will look for where we need to refer a client and where they should be booked in with another professional to make sure that they get the best care really for their circumstances. So it's a good all round service.

Lisa Boote: Thanks. And I know, the aim of the apps when we put them in place was to provide that holistic and that truly connected health service. So it was kind of like your one stop shop for everything. Well, thanks, Sam for that great overview of the nutritional consultations. I hope that people have got a lot out of this webinar and thank you for taking the time to watch this webinar.

If you'd like to know more about both apps or have any questions, please contact your usual Aviva contact who'll be happy to talk through the benefits and also how to download them. If you're watching as a client, your intermediary or Aviva contact will be happy to assist.