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Advancements in digital mental health and leaving no one behind

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Sean Duggan

Chief Executive for the Mental Health Network, NHS Confederation

Advances in digital technology have greatly benefited healthcare over the years, and never more so than in the last year. It has allowed patients to continue accessing treatment for both physical and mental health conditions.


The NHS Long Term Plan contains ambitions for all secondary care providers – including mental health – to digitise and integrate with other parts of the health and care system by 2024. In the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, and with social distancing measures in place, the use of remote or digital mental health services was rapidly accelerated.

As the pandemic continues, with more innovations and even wider use of digital solutions expected, it’s absolutely vital that we make sure digital services are as inclusive as possible. It is especially important for those needing mental health support, who may experience heightened feelings of isolation and disconnection.

Addressing the barriers to accessing support

It’s likely that face-to-face care will continue to be affected in the coming months, which means it’s more important than ever that alternative forms of care remain available.

The barriers to accessing digital mental health services must be dismantled, so that as many people as possible can access services if and when they need to.

The barriers to accessing digital mental health services must be dismantled, so that as many people as possible can access services if and when they need to.

In December, the Mental Health Network published a dedicated guide for mental health providers on digital inclusion. Digital inclusion means ensuring everyone is able to access the internet and associated technology, and importantly, that they know how to do so.

Alongside internet access, the importance of the skills to be able to navigate and engage easily in an increasingly digital world must not be underestimated, and we must remember that not everyone has these skills.

A personalised approach

As one of our members recently told us, the digital approach needs to be informed by what people find useful and driven by both the ability and willingness of people to take it up. It is also important to tailor and personalise digital services and care as much as possible.

While the rapid adoption of digital solutions across the UK has largely been positive, it has also revealed areas of operational and clinical processes that can contribute to exclusion from accessing these services. This could risk increasing existing health inequalities – avoidable, unfair and systematic differences between different groups of people – that could be exacerbated through a growing digital divide.

Digital mental health has many advantages, including better access to services such as online self-help. It has also helped to reduce the stigma surrounding mental illness. But more needs to be done to bridge the digital divide.

The Digital Inclusion Guide was developed by the Mental Health Network’s Digital Mental Health Forum and the Association of Mental Health Providers.

The guide was also informed by people who access or provide services from across the statutory, voluntary, and independent mental health sector. The guide can be downloaded on the Mental Health Network website.

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