Safety, Compliance & Integration
Integration
We have a deep understanding of how National Health Services (NHS) are delivered. Our team includes people who have worked in and managed NHS Services, enabling us to mobilise new services swiftly using an agreed and tested approach.
Our Customer Ops and Implementation Team supports services end to end, including:
- A dedicated Customer Ops Team to set up and support delivery
- Over 10 years of NHS experience, delivering nearly 500 projects
- Mobilisation supported by Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and consistent ways of working.
- A single point of contact (Customer Ops Manager) for day-to-day delivery
- Training programmes for clinicians and operational teams
- Ongoing support and monitoring once live
- Access to a flexible workforce model, including Clinical Associates (Healios alumni) where appropriate
In practice, we will work with you to:
- Agree referral criteria and an activity schedule
- Provide activity and outcomes dashboards to support decision-making
- Review performance regularly so services run smoothly and predictably
We keep referral routes simple, provide clear admin guides and templates, agree response times and points of contact, and minimise extra steps for frontline staff.
Talk to us about safety, integration, safeguarding and governance
Relevant governance, clinical safety, Information Governance (IG) and implementation documents are shared with the appropriate clinical, procurement and Information Technology (IT) teams during partnership discussions, where appropriate.
Safeguarding and risk management
Safeguarding and risk management sit at the heart of our online services. We work across England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland, partnering with NHS teams and local authorities to keep children, young people and adults safe while accessing remote autism, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and mental health support.
Our multidisciplinary safeguarding team
Delivered by a dedicated multidisciplinary team, including:
- Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) clinician
- Safeguarding named nurse / Children’s nurse
- Child/adult safeguarding worker
- Education and pastoral worker
- Mental health social worker
Professional registration and memberships
Professional registration:
- Registered Children’s Nurse, Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)
- Social Worker, Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)
Memberships:
- Association of Child Protection Professionals (AOCPP)
- National Independent Health Provider Safeguarding Forum (IHPSF)
- Safeguarding Adults National Network (SANN – NHS subgroup)
How we manage risk
- Early risk screening: all clients receive a risk pre-screen and triage assessment as soon as they enter the service.
- Safeguarding support and supervision: clinicians can access safeguarding support at all times, including out of hours, including 1:1 case supervision and reflective group supervision.
- Quality assurance of referrals: safeguarding referrals are checked and quality assured prior to sending, aligned to local threshold criteria, with local processes reviewed continuously.
- Oversight and escalation: safeguarding specialists contribute to statutory child protection / child in need processes where required and escalate appropriately.
- Working with local teams: we liaise with local safeguarding leads and partners to support effective multi-agency working, tailored per contract.
Outcomes
- 97% of safeguarding and early help referrals made by Healios result in additional support for a young person or family.
- Our safeguarding training and supervision approach led to Healios being nominated for a national learning award in 2024.
Toolkits
Clinician safeguarding toolkit (available across our national digital service):
- Guidance on local safeguarding thresholds and referral processes
- Consistency and confidence in safeguarding practice across a national service
- Proactive use of digital tools to strengthen multi-agency working
- Support to make timely, accurate referrals
Families safeguarding toolkit:
- Accessible information on local and national early help and support services
- Up-to-date signposting regardless of location or familiarity with local systems
- Helps clinicians by improving shared understanding of thresholds, routes and partner organisations
- Supports continuous improvement through feedback and toolkit analytics
Questions NHS partners often ask about outcomes and impact
Is online autism and ADHD assessment clinically safe?
- Healios uses defined clinical models, tools and governance processes for online autism and ADHD assessments, with documented pathways, inclusion/exclusion criteria and risk escalation routes.
How does Healios keep data secure and compliant?
Healios combines information governance policies, secure systems and controlled access to protect clinical and personal data, with data processing arrangements agreed with NHS partners.
Governance
Our governance approach is led by the Chief Clinical Officer and supported by Heads of Service for Clinical Governance and Safeguarding, alongside clinical leads and managers. Healios is registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) for relevant regulated activities in England, and our clinical approaches are informed by evidence-based practice, including NICE guidance.
Our approach includes:
- Verified qualifications and professional registrations where applicable
- Agreed clinical pathways, assessment tools and decision-making frameworks
- Documented inclusion/exclusion criteria for referrals
- Risk assessment and escalation processes for clinical concerns
- Regular audit and quality improvement activity
- Regular supervision and reflective practice, including video case reviews
- Incident reporting and learning processes to prevent recurrence
Our platform supports safe delivery through capabilities such as session recording, risk tools and real-time monitoring.
Information governance and data protection
Healios manages information in line with UK data protection and privacy legislation, NHS and ISO (International Standards Organisation) standards and expectations.
Key elements include:
- Ongoing management of the Information Security Management System (ISMS)
- Defined purposes and lawful bases for processing clinical and personal data
- Secure storage and handling of clinical records with audit trails
- Authorised and authenticated access to our systems and dataProcesses for incident reporting and management
- Data retention and deletion policies
- Data processing and information-sharing Agreements that adhere to UK GDPR
Our robust information security and governance framework ensures that all personal data, including sensitive information, is handled with the utmost confidentiality, integrity, and availability, underpinning our commitment to safety and regulatory compliance.
Technical security
Online services are delivered through secure digital platforms designed to protect service users, clinicians and information. This includes:
- Secure authentication for authorised users
- Encrypted connections for online sessions and data transfer
- Monitoring and logging of access to sensitive information
- Regular review of security controls and technical risks
Integration with NHS pathways and systems
Healios services are designed to sit within existing NHS pathways, not operate in isolation. In practice, this means:
- Agreed referral routes and criteria with local teams
- Clear arrangements for sharing reports and clinical information back to NHS services
- Defined processes for onward referral and escalation
- Collaboration with local services on how digital options are presented to families and adults
Specific integration arrangements are agreed with each partner and set out in service documentation.