HCB South Africa is the trading name of Employee Health Management South Africa. HCB South Africa is part of the HCB Group which is headquartered in Oxfordshire, UK.
HCB Group has been supporting disability insurers and employers in the UK and Ireland since 1984. HCB Group have a proven outcome and customer service record and we are proud to have built a market leading reputation which is underpinned by client relationships, integrity and reliability. 2021 sees the launch of HCB South Africa. HCB South Africa will leverage the HCB Group skills and experience and bring a new dynamic to the South African Income Protection and Employee wellness market.
HCB South Africa’s mission is to Redefine Occupational Health. Our aim is to change the mind-set relative to what a fully integrated holistic and outcome focused Occupational Health provider can deliver. Rather than the traditional ‘medical model’, HCB Group’s approach blends compassion and common sense and draws on rigorous scientific research, which is constantly refined and updated.
Absence Management, Case Management and Rehabilitation are combined into a seamless integrated service. HCB Group knows that based on our own experience that the majority of sickness absence arises from social rather than medical determinants. HCB Group’s focus is on the absentee with the Case Manager engaging positively with them, identifying and dismantling return-to-work barriers, and working with them and their employers to agree a sustainable return to work plan that works for all stakeholders.
Based on HCB Group’s experience, we know that if absentees are referred within 4 weeks, the HCB Group model returns >90% of people to work – where referrals are made 26 weeks or more after date first absent, <5% of absentees will ever return to work.
HCB Group’s pioneering work in this area has been customised to meet the needs of South African insurers, employers, and employees.
Based on our experience we know that every client is different. Insurers have very different claims philosophies, and employers have different cultures, some supportive and paternalistic, and others are more rules based.
For this reason, HCB Group has learned to deliver the same outcome focused service, but carefully nuanced to blend with the culture of the organisations we support.
See what separates us from our competitors, by reading a little about The Science Behind the Service below.
HCB Case Managers are laser-focussed on sustainable outcomes. Their work is underpined by three pillars, which combine to make HCB South Africa a unique provider of Employee Health Management Systems.
BPS
Granular understanding and use of the BPS Model of Disability Assessment. Regular training from a BPS architect, Professor Sir Mansel Aylward CB. This enables our CCM’s to understand the prominence of Biological, Psychological and Social factors influencing RTW at core level.
ODG
HCB uses world leading disability duration guidelines to aid target RTW dates, provide details on likely co-morbidities and help keep absentees motivated and driven towards sustainable RTW.
MOMENTA
A company which HCB Group has established to deliver market leading training services, using nudge theory, brain science and motivational interviewing techniques to deliver better outcomes and improve relationships.
Prof Christoffel Grobler, HCB South Africa’s Chief Medical Officer says;
“The importance of returning to work after sickness absence should never be underestimated, as cessation of work is known to result in a deterioration in both mental and physical health. The longer a person is away from work, the lower the chances of returning to work. Therefore, no stone should ever be left unturned to determine barriers to returning to work early on, and dismantling these barriers wherever possible.”
Our colleagues in the UK are well ahead of the curve having developed a treatment Pathway for sufferers of Long Covid (Post-Covid Syndrome). Take a look at this short video to see a real-life example of the pathway at work.
Absenteeism R2.2 billion. Presenteeism R14.8 billion
The cost of workplace depression to South Africa