WORCESTERSHIRE Health and Care NHS Trust has been given a £5m cash boost to develop new digital systems to support mental health patients in the county.
The additional funding follows the announcement the trust has been named by NHS England as a Global Digital Exemplar for Mental Health – a title given to trusts in recognition of its recent IT developments, as well as its overall performance and financial sustainability.
Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust is the main provider of mental health services in the county and the extra cash will allow the trust to develop innovative IT and digital systems to support mental health patients.
One of the trust’s recent innovations is Healthy Minds Worcestershire, an app providing support to people aged 16 and over who are experiencing problems such as stress, anxiety, low mood and depression.
NHS England’s Next Steps on the NHS Five Year Forward View report said of the Trust: “They are one of the most digitally advanced mental health trusts in the NHS and they have committed to work to become a world class exemplar for the rest of the NHS to learn from.”
Worcester’s MP, Robin Walker, welcomed the announcement and said: “I am very pleased that our local Health and Care Trust has been named as a Digital Exemplar for Mental Health and will now receive vital extra funding as a result.”
“The Government is rightly committed to using innovation in technology to improve healthcare pathways and this is perhaps most important of all in the field of mental health, where a variety of factors can often leave patients waiting too long for diagnoses and treatments.
“I have long argued not just for increased funding but also targeted specialist support for mental health patients in Worcester and I am glad this is right at the top of the Prime Minister’s agenda.”
