Carrying an EHIC is a credit to you - £35s worth of credit!
14th August 2008
Giving it all for Tina – Cops that Drop pledge to raise £25,000
30th May 2007
While you were out at conference we hope you didn't become another crime statistic
21st May 2007
Stash of cash discovered in Police Stations
28th March 2007
Optima achieves award success
April 2004 - Employee Benefits Awards
Stuart Harvey helps Thames Valley cut sickness rate
February 2004 - Employee Benefits
Injured police given private health care
January 21st 2002 - The Daily Mail
Carrying an EHIC is a credit to you - £35s worth of credit!
14th August 2008
We are fortunate to have healthcare free at the point of delivery in the UK, but as you know this is not the always the case when you travel overseas. You will often have to pay part, if not all, of your medical bills if you fall ill or have an accident. And if it's serious, the costs could easily become huge, spiralling up to many thousands of pounds. By taking out travel insurance and carrying a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) you can avoid substantial doctors' bills, delays in treatment and undue stress in the event of a medical emergency.
No doubt you are already aware of the comprehensive features of the family cover provided by the travel insurance element of your Federation Group Insurance Scheme. However you may not know that a EHIC is free, application takes five minutes and it is valid for up to five years. As a card carrying member of the Group Scheme any excess payments due on claims made for medical emergencies will be waived; saving you £35 each time. In addition, not only do you benefit directly, but a recent Federation claim has illustrated just how valuable the benefits of an EHIC can be to all members, helping to maintain premiums at competitive levels across the piece.
It is important to realise that the EHIC is NOT an alternative to travel insurance. So whilst it will:
• Provide access to reduced-cost or free medical treatment from state healthcare providers in European Economic Area countries and Switzerland that becomes necessary because of either illness or an accident.
• Allow you to be treated on the same basis as a resident of the country you are visiting.
• Include treatment of a chronic or pre-existing medical condition that becomes necessary during your visit.
• Include routine maternity care (provided the reason for your visit is not specifically to give birth).
It will not :
• Act as a substitute or replacement for private travel insurance.
• Cover the costs of private healthcare or services that are not part of the state healthcare system in the country you are visiting, such as mountain rescue in ski resorts and privately operated ambulance services.
• Cover the costs of being brought back to the UK – dead or alive.
• Allow you to go abroad to specifically receive treatment (including going abroad to give birth).
For these reasons it is important to have both an EHIC and a valid private travel insurance policy. Be aware that you do need to renew your EHIC, and can do so up to six months before the expiry date. In fact according to the Department of Health about 3 million cards will expire between September 2008 and March 2009. So check out the expiry date on your card and if you haven’t already made an application get on with it so you too can feel the benefits.
For Applications and Renewals:
Call 0845 606 2030
Visit: http://www.stuartharvey.uk.com/ehic.htm
Or use an application form available from your local post office
To Replace a Lost or Stolen EHIC:
Call 0845 606 2030.
If the card is lost or stolen while you are abroad apply for a Provisional Replacement Certificate, which will provide you with the same cover as an EHIC until you return home.
Call 0044 (0)191 218 1999
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Giving it all for Tina – Cops that Drop pledge to raise £25,000
30th May 2007
Eight officers from Major Crime Branch are taking part in a charity sky dive for the Royal Marsden Hospital, where their colleague DC Tina Braiden is being treated for cancer.
Tagged with the label ‘Cops that Drop’ DCs Amanda Stroud, Dean Tuting, Clinton Novelle, Steve Edwards and Nick Jones, PC Darren Graysmark Sgt Kevin Homewood, and DS Simon Bates will throw themselves from an aeroplane two miles above Drop Zone Hinton, Northamptonshire, on August 27, plummeting to earth at 125mph with the aim of raising £25,000. They have been inspired by Tina's courage and are taking on this challenge in honour of the huge bravery constantly shown by cancer sufferers and their loved ones.
Fundraising efforts are off to a grand start with a donation of £1,500 from the Police Property Act Fund, as well a cash donation and personal accident insurance cover for those jumping from Federation Group insurance specialist Stuart Harvey Insurance Brokers.
All money raised will go towards the development of services for children and young people with cancer and the new blood cancer unit at the Royal Marsden Hospital. The hospital receives 40,000 new referrals a year and 25% of these are from the south east area. Tina is lucky enough to be one of them.
The treatment and support she has received there have been second to none. Most importantly she has been given information about her cancer and its treatment, which has enabled her to make her own well-informed decisions about how she fights the disease.
Campaign organiser DC Debbie Upton writes: “When my friend and colleague Tina rang to tell me that the cancer had returned and that it was terminal she was on the brink of returning to MCB following a double mastectomy. I can’t find the words to describe that phone call, but amid her anger and dismay something stronger shone through as she set out how she was going to beat the disease – her determination has never and, I know, will never fade.
She was selfless in her thoughts for those closest to her and how these people, especially her husband Ray, were going to cope with her illness. She told me she would need a number of friends from the various parts of her life to be there to support her through thick and thin. My role was to provide Tina with an all-important and, for her, highly significant link with work. From this sprang my resolution to do all I could to raise funds and awareness for the hospital that was doing so much to help my dear friend, and other people like her.”
All of us know someone whose life has been affected by cancer, and this is your opportunity to make a difference for someone who will battle with this disease in the future.
Go to www.justgiving.com/copsthatdrop to make a simple, fast and totally secure donation, and if you are a UK taxpayer, an extra 28% in tax will be added to your donation at no additional cost to you. Alternatively send a cheque payable to the Royal Marsden Sky Dive, c/o DC Debbie Upton or PC Graysmark at Major Crime Branch, Sussex House, Crowhurst Road, Hollingbury, Brighton, BN18 8AF.
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While you were out at conference we hope you didn't become another crime statistic
21st May 2007
Specialist Police Federation broker Stuart Harvey Insurance Brokers has launched two products to protect your home and vehicles. With property crime accounting for the majority of Police recorded crime you may not need convincing of the value of good quality insurance, but you might want to check out how your existing policies measure up against the Home Insurance and Motor Insurance provided by Stuart Harvey Insurance Brokers in partnership with sister company Forces Financial.
Both products are designed with the needs of the Emergency Forces in mind. Personal issue equipment is included as standard in the Home Insurance policy, and the optional Home Emergency Service is ideal for those who, by the very nature of their job, may be unable to easily organise a solution for a domestic emergency.
Stuart Harvey Insurance Brokers has a panel of over 20 major UK motor insurers at your disposal, ready to deliver the cover you need at a competitive price. With easy payment options, 24 hour claims line and courtesy vehicles amongst the available features, the online quote and buy service is worth interrogating for a quote, so go directly to www.stuartharvey.uk.com.
Don’t get caught out with a policy that falls short –
Visit www.forcesfinancial.com or call 0870 121 7594 for a quote now.
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Stash of cash discovered in Police Stations
28th March 2007
Officers at Luton Police station and at Headquarters in Kempston have been startled by discoveries of large amounts of cash in the stations. Considering budgets are being squeezed and that everything comes at a cost, how can cash suddenly appear from nowhere?
Most of you will know the name Stuart Harvey Insurance Brokers from the Federation group life, accident, sickness and travel insurance scheme. Now, in partnership with sister company Forces Financial, Stuart Harvey are providing staff with a new member service – free cash! Or more precisely perhaps, access to your own cash, for free.
With the support of the Federation, Stuart Harvey and Forces Financial have installed free to use cash machines at the two sites, giving staff access to all the usual bank ATM services, but WITHOUT CHARGE. With many cash machines now charging users, typically £1.50 or more per transaction, this is a real bonus for all staff who no longer have to waste valuable time visiting the nearest free machine offsite.
The message from Stuart Harvey is simple – enjoy this service and make as much use of the machines as you can. If they prove to be successful here, with high levels of demand, they will be able to expand the portfolio of machines to more sites, for the convenience of all concerned.
Stuart Harvey also have a great introductory offer on their new car insurance scheme. Anyone taking out a policy before the end of 2007 will receive £25 cashback – see the advertisement elsewhere in this issue on how to get a quote. Like the free to use cash machines, the offer is open to all; Officers, Support Staff, PCSOs and even ACPO members.
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Optima achieves award success
April 2004
Employee Benefits Awards
Optima, our specialist healthcare sceheme, has recently been recognised in the 2004 Employee Benefits Awards. The scheme, introduced by Thames Valley Police was awarded 'Runner Up' in the 'Most Effective Healthcare Strategy'.
"The aim was to reduce sickness absence, reduce periods in recuperative posts as well as reduce even the likelihood of sickness or placements in recuperative posts. This scheme included all staff and went beyond simply offering private medical insurance. It was an innovative way of dealing with a problem, although it was constrained by police budgets."
"The panel felt that Thames Valley Police was doing something difficult with a limited budget, and this project should encourage other forces to undertake similar initiatives."
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Stuart Harvey helps Thames Valley cut sickness rate
February 2004
Employee Benefits
Three years ago Thames Valley police struggled with what it now admits was a "horrendous" sickness absence rate
Each police Officer was taking an average of 15 days off each year, placing it in the bottom quartile for all UK police forces. A scheme was devised in conjunction with specialist insurance firm Stuart Harvey, which brought the figure down to 9.1 days, putting it in the top quartile and bringing estimated savings of £669,000.
Under the scheme, police Officers have been given quick and easy access to physiotherapists and psychiatrists to tackle the problems of absence caused by stress and back problems. Carole Haveron, a chief inspector and head of corporate and support services says that a police Officer can now phone up occupational health and be seen by a consultant psychiatrist within a couple of days, whereas on the NHS most people would wait 12-18 months.
The force too has a deal with five providers of physiotherapy which are under contract to ensure that they call individuals who have requested this service within 48 hours and get them their first session within seven working days. Haveron adds: "We have written to every GP practise in the Thames Valley and told them how quickly police Officers can get support, so now GP's say 'you have got a really good scheme at work, go and see your occupational health people'."
Another measure taken by the force's occupational health department is phoning up Officers who have taken days off at home to tell them of the range of options open to them. The Home Office now uses the Thames Valley solution, named Optima, as a beacon scheme in it's efforts to cut police sickness rates nationally.
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Injured police given private health care
January 21st 2002
The Daily Mail
Police forces are spending hundreds of thousands of pounds on private schemes to keep injured staff off long NHS waiting lists.
Officers who can spend up to two years waiting for even routine treatment are now back at work in only six weeks, it has been claimed. Frustrated by the NHS delays, police chiefs are turning to the private sector to keep their Officers fit.
The Police Federation said six forces had taken out private schemes and the number is expected to grow rapidly. Thames Valley Police, one of the pioneers of private health care, spend £300,000 a year on cover for their Officers and civilian staff - but say they have saved a massive £2.6 million in one year by keeping them off waiting lists.
Thames Valley use a health scheme called Optima, which is brokered by Stuart Harvey in Hook, Hampshire. Stuart Harvey claims that Officers who need routine treatment to knees or backs can be back on the beat in as little as six weeks. In the NHS, it can take 18 months to 2 years.
Steve Ferris, of Stuart Harvey, says Thames Valley Police have saved the equivalent of 78 years of police time in ony 12 months. "We can get Officers treated and back to work quicker than they can expect their first referral on the NHS," he said "We're not anti-NHS. But we are there to facilitate treatment so that Officers and civilian support staff are back on duty as quick as possible."
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