NHS24 wishes on behalf of NHSScotland to purchase a licence from a supplier for the use of Computerised Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (cCBT) software and any additional services in the use of the software.
The contract will be for an initial term of 5 years with the option to break at the end of Years 3 and 4 plus the option of 2 additional year extensions after Year 5.
Depression and anxiety are 2 of the biggest public health challenges in Scotland with mental health costing the Scottish economy over 10 000 000 000 GBP a year.
Depression affects as many as 1 in 5 adults in Scotland, with the majority treated in primary care settings, predominantly by GPs with 25-30 % of all GP consultations involve depression, stress or anxiety. In Scotland the number of individuals prescribed anti-depressants has doubled in 5 years with the demand for specialist face-to-face psychological therapy doubling in the last 10 years.
The Scottish Government has recognised these challenges through its 2020 vision which states the need to underpin service redesign with the use of digital health, while enabling patients to self-manage their own conditions.
In 2017/18, full national roll-out of the Computerised Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (cCBT) service across all 14 territorial health boards was achieved, offering a national solution to the increasing demand of common mental health problems such as low mood, depression and anxiety.
The service receive approximately 1 400 referrals per month with a total of 16 761 referrals in 2018 adopting a once for Scotland approach, the cCBT model has been developed to act as a “central hub” from which a range of cCBT products and other technologies can be launched.
More than 85 % of referrals made come directly from GPs, others are made up from 23 clinical sources, including clinical psychology and occupational health, social work and acute services such as diabetes care.
There is growing evidence on the key role that cCBT is playing in addressing health inequalities through ever increasing digital access to the cCBT treatment across Scotland. Projected levels of use by 2019 will exceed 15 000 referrals per annum.