Legal & General Group Protection has partnered with virtual cancer survivorship clinic Perci Health.
The partnership brings personalised, evidence-based care to employees living with and beyond cancer, who are covered by Legal & General’s group income protection (GIP) and are unable to work long-term.
Perci Health bids to achieve best possible outcomes; supporting people to understand and manage the long-term effects of cancer treatment, and to optimise their quality of life by providing specialist clinical and vocational rehabilitation through virtual clinics with a large team of multidisciplinary cancer experts, focused on the physical, psychological and practical effects of cancer.
It delivers tailored care packages, aiming to maximise the likelihood of returning to work following a period of prolonged absence, where appropriate, for employees with a cancer diagnosis.
As part of Legal & General’s person-centred framework Be Well. Get Better. Be Supported, the service will be made available to employees when they have been unable to work for a prolonged period and received treatment for cancer.
It is available at no extra cost to those individuals covered by their employer’s Legal & General’s GIP policy.
Perci Health’s services include: appointment scheduling and reminders; tailored resources based on a holistic needs assessment; personalised care plans created by a team of cancer nurses, outlining goals, care team and recommended resources.
It also includes access to a multidisciplinary team – a tailored care team working collaboratively to support the individual.
The multidisciplinary team provides access to cancer experts from more than 20 different specialisms, including: cancer nurse specialists, dietitians, physiotherapists, psychologists, occupational therapists, menopause specialist genetic counsellors, and clinical exercise coaches.
Kelly McCabe, co-founder and CEO at Perci Health, said: “Through this partnership, employees covered by their employer’s GIP policy with Legal & General will have access to a broad team of caring, cancer experts who innately understand the emotional marathon a cancer diagnosis brings into their lives.
“All too often, those diagnosed with cancer feel alone with their problems and with no energy to hunt down solutions.
“With Perci Health, employees have access to those solutions at their fingertips; bringing improved outcomes when living and working with cancer.
“With the changing cancer care landscape and growing population of people living beyond a cancer diagnosis in the UK, high quality support for the survivors of cancer has never been more important, and Legal and General are at the forefront of addressing this emerging problem for their employer clients.”
Vanessa Sallows, group protection claims and governance director at Legal & General, (pictured) added: “Thanks to medical advances, cancer survival rates have more than doubled to the point where cancer is increasingly being classified a chronic disease.
“But data from Grid shows that only 4% of people with cancer have returned to work after early or active intervention, despite cancer making up 27% of claims. We don’t want cancer – or any other health problem – to stand in the way of someone living and working to their potential.
“That’s why we’re on a mission to change long-held thinking on return to work, and so is Perci Health.
“In fact, our thinking on all counts is very much aligned, in terms of good work being beneficial for health, and wellbeing being about the physical, emotional, and social factors.
“We’re really excited about today’s announcement and about working in partnership to help drive better outcomes for more people.”