Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust has published an opportunity worth up to £16 million for an online mental health services framework, seeking to engage with suppliers on the delivery of digital mental health assessments, treatments and therapies for patients across the region.
The framework is to support patients across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire & BSW regions and is divided into eight lots. These include an online CBT treatment for eating disorders for adults and one for children; an online CBT step 3 assessment and treatment for adults; an online mental health assessment for children and young people; an online CBT treatment for children and young people; an online goal-based interventions treatment for children and young people; an online psychological therapies Step 4 assessment and treatment for adults; and online autism, ADHD and dual assessments for children and young people.
It follows on from a prior information notice published in September which initially signalled Oxford Health’s intention to create a framework for the provision of online and digital mental health services.
The deadline for submissions or requests to participate to be received is 16 December at 12pm, with an estimated date given for invites to tender or participation given as 13 January 2025. To learn more about the opportunity, please click here.
Digital in mental health services
October saw us speak with experts including Byron George, co-founder and CEO of PCMIS Health Technologies on recent projects in the digital mental health space, outcomes to date, and hopes for the future.
We were also joined by Joshua Camacho, business development manager for the UK & Ireland at Enovacom, who shared insight into Enovacom’s work around digital mental health, sharing case studies from the UK context, along with his perspective on the wider digital mental health landscape in the UK and beyond.
James Reed, consultant forensic psychiatrist and physician executive at InterSystems, chatted with us about recent projects and key opportunities for digital transformation and technology in the mental health space. James shared how over the years, the delivery of mental health has moved from large hospitals into a community-based model. This has brought benefits in terms of bringing care closer to patients, but also challenges, as care is delivered in numerous settings and it can be difficult to make information broadly available.
HTN’s report on digital mental health explored key updates in this space over the past few months, from plans to improve data use within mental health services to how a chatbot can be utilised to support mental health referrals; and we’ll also take a look at some audience views, research, and mental health learnings from HTN’s network.
At the beginning of November, Birmingham and Solihull ICB proposed new plans for the region’s Children and Young People Mental Health Transformation Programme, outlining suggested changes to service delivery with the aim of improving access to mental health care and highlighting digital innovation as a “major vehicle for change”.
