FRONT LINE SOLUTIONS: UBER MENTAL HEALTH

Interview with Dr Julian Nesbitt

Recent research has shown that two thirds of us experience a mental health problem in our lifetimes. While not taboo anymore, the dialogue on mental health is not solving the problem and more needs to be done. An alarming 60% of our work force have experienced mental health issues during their professional life.

We know that work is good for health, but evidence shows that work related mental health issues, like stress, affect your work performances and personal fulfilment.

The country is currently suffering a crisis in mental health provision with waiting lists of 6 months or more.

With £42 billion lost to UK business due to mental health issues last year there is dire need for businesses to deal with mental health issues in their staff. Who can provide a fast access and deal with issues before becomes a problem? What is the solution to solving this crisis? Could modern technology provide fast convenient access to appointments with qualified vetted therapists in well-governed environment?

We asked Dr Julian Nesbitt, an ex A&E, now GP Doctor and NHS clinical entrepreneur at NHS England , who is  known for his wide experience in working in the NHS, what are the options when experiencing mental health issues.  

Working in Accident and Emergency he was on the front line, where people are at their most vulnerable with many having just tried to end their lives, he met a large number of patients who weren’t able to access help. Working in GP surgeries and in secondary psychiatric units he has also seen how the current provisions and funding given to mental health are inadequate and made it his mission to work out a uber mental health support.

‘I have been interested in mental healthcare since my schooldays. To me there is nothing more interesting than how the brain and mind functions. I have seen first hand the difficulties that people face with mental health problems and through my years of experience have seen an increasing number of people suffering with these issues.

Working in Accident and Emergency I was on the front line, where people are at their most vulnerable with many having just tried to end their lives. A large number told me they had ended up in this situation as they were unable to access prior help.’ Dr Julian Nesbitt says.

Dr Julian has previously published original research and has good understanding of this process. With the benefit of unique skills like leadership, organisation and time management, he has been able to design, co-ordinate and lead his team to deliver a novel solution, ‘Dr Julian Medical Group’. 

Inspired by his father who was a very successful entrepreneur and founded OUR Price records and Ragdale Hall, although he unfortunately passed away when Julian was 13, Julian’s never-ending energy and enthusiasm leads the team to keep motivated and succeed.

Known for his genuine desire to improve mental health access for the country,  Dr Julian has built meaningful connections with excellent mental health experts practitioners, as well as a number of NHS trusts and corporate organisations.

‘Having waiting lists of 6 weeks or even longer for a therapy session is inappropriate and therefore I have made it my mission to try and provide quality therapy and mental healthcare in an accessible form. I have seen the likes of UBER® transform the taxi market by utilizing technology and I wanted to bring technology to the forefront of mental health care and therapy by making it more widely available.

There is already high quality evidence proving that online video technology works for mental healthcare. I therefore set up Dr Julian with the aim of bringing therapy into people’s homes and to give them the convenience of having an appointment with whoever they want, when they want and where they want. We believe in improving accessibility for mental healthcare and wellbeing in the UK.’

Dr Julian Medical Group offers private services where patients can book anywhere in the world. Anyone with a mental health problem in the NHS can benefit and corporate companies to provide services to their employees to reduce absenteeism and presenteism and gain back a return of 8x the investment as employees now do not take 6 months off work. Dr Julian’s solution is very efficient and allows to deal with mental health issue quickly, before it becomes a problem.

Patients are connected almost immediately, seven days a week, to vetted mental healthcare professionals offering them choice of time and type of appointment ie video/audio/text they want. All therapists are appropriately qualified and have on-line training/experience.

 ‘We match patients to therapists using filters of language/issue and therapy type or they can choose their own.As part of the system patients take anxiety (GAD7), depression (PHQ9) or WSAS assessments, which are stored in the patient’s own profile as a permanent record. Text conversations are also kept in the patient’s own profile for ongoing reference.’ Dr Julian explains

‘The system is designed so that every Mental Health Trust/Provider/Corporate company that we work with has their own portal branded and customized to their needs. Using our therapists the NHS can use Dr Julian to address periods of high/exceptional demand or reduce waiting lists. The NHS could use their own staff on the platform thus providing patients with further choice.

Mental Health services to Corporate Companies

Dr Julian Medical Group also offers mental health services to corporate companies allowing each company to have their own branded portal that they can assign their employees to. Employees can then gain access to the therapists from wherever and whenever it suits them.

This allows vast choice and the specialist required for that person. ‘Providing mental health support for employees has shown to give a return of 8x the initial investment from reduced presenteeism and absenteeism according to the thriving at work report so it makes financial sense to. So long as patients have Internet access they can have appointments from wherever it works best for them.

’ Dr Julian Nesbitt says.

Any challenge has a solution. Like any solution design to revolutionise an overwhelmed system, there are challenges which could delay implementation. ‘Marketing is always difficult to corporates as its getting access to the right people and decision makers’. This is why Sovereign Magazine is presenting Julian’s idea to the policy makers during the Solutionaries Conference at the very beginning of 2019.