Primary Care News, Uncategorized

Digital mental health platform supports GPs

Efficacy, the London-based Cognitive Behavioural Therapists is utilising the digital mental health platform developed by SilverCloud Health.

The company provides care for individuals and organisations both privately and online treating a range of disorders and emotional issues, offering CBT treatment for problems around work, depression, anxiety, OCD, PTSD, stress, panic.

They are now supporting GPs through the online therapy service using the SilverCloud platform, providing GPs access to mental health and wellbeing programmes when they need them.

Lee Grant, the founder and clinical director of Efficacy, and a practicing CBT therapist, said: “A busy GP, working 8am to 8pm with a family at home, might not be able to make a face-to-face therapy session. The SilverCloud platform makes it possible for them to access the service; and the great thing is that we have found it to be as effective as one-to-one therapy.”

“When we asked one of our patients why that was, they said it was because they could access their programme when they needed to. Therapy is not just what happens ‘in therapy’ but the structure around it; and that is very explicit with SilverCloud.”

Dr Derek Richards CSO, SilverCloud Health “The SilverCloud platform was chosen because of its breadth and depth of engaging mental health content programmes and support, and also because of its extensive research and evidence-base.”

Lloyd Humphreys, Head of Europe for SilverCloud Health, said: “Efficacy is a quite exceptional service that gets remarkable results. It is therefore an achievement that they have decided to use our platform to offer digital programmes to clinicians who need them.”

“We all know that the NHS is doing an incredible job, often under enormous pressure in difficult circumstances as highlighted in Pulse’s GP Workload Survey which showed that GPs are working an average of 11 hours per day with them believing they are working beyond their capacity. This can have the consequence of increasing levels of stress experienced making it imperative to support and make sure clinicians are looked after properly.”

“Along with a host of other initiatives being delivered by the NHS, Efficacy’s use of the SilverCloud platform will make sure that timely and effective support is provided for doctors using the GP Health Service. The impact of protecting the workforce is wide-ranging and SilverCloud is proud to support any initiative that does just that.”

In the latest NHS Staff Survey, two in five (39.8%) NHS staff in England reported that they felt unwell from the stress of their job in the previous year; the highest figure for five years.