Ultrasis plc, the provider of interactive health care and associated services, is pleased to announce that seven Primary Care Trusts (“PCTs”) in the East Midlands Strategic Health Authority (SHA) have contracted to provide Beating the Blues (“BtB”) to all patients with mild to moderate depression.
The seven PCTs introducing this benefit to patients are Nottingham City, Nottinghamshire County Teaching, Lincolnshire, Derby City, Derbyshire County, Leicestershire County & Rutland and Northamptonshire.
The East Midlands PCTs pooled their commissioning ability to achieve maximum value, enabling them to procure BtB at rates far more attractive than had they done so on an individual basis. The two-year agreement has an initial value of more than £450,000 and will enable the PCTs involved to be at least 25% compliant with the implementation requirements of The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE). They will be able to improve their level of compliance over the two years of the contract by purchasing the additional patient treatments required.
The agreement is a significant breakthrough for the Company and Ultrasis is pressing ahead to assist PCTs in implementing the NICE Guidance on Computerised cognitive behavioural therapy.
Commenting on this contract, Nigel Brabbins, Chief Executive of Ultrasis, said:
“Ultrasis provides the NHS with an affordable way of improving access to psychological therapies to treat depression through our NICE approved program Beating the Blues. The PCTs in the East Midlands should be applauded for their collective decision to capitalise on this opportunity. We now look to the Department of Health and the Care Services Improvement Partnership (CSIP) to help us engage with the other nine SHAs to ensure that the Government’s commitment to make Beating the Blues available to any patient who needs it is fulfilled.
“In March 2007 Patricia Hewitt, then Health Secretary, promised to make BtB available nationally to any patient who needs it. We are actively campaigning to encourage the recently appointed Secretary of State for Health, Alan Johnson, to implement the NICE guidance.”
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Notes to editors
Ultrasis plc – Beating the Blues (“BtB”)
Beating the Blues is an eight-week, web-based treatment programme for depression based on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. Following a rigorous examination by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), BtB was approved by NICE in February 2006 for use in the National Health Service.
Approving Beating the Blues for use by the NHS, the Secretary of State for Health announced on 28th March 2007: “Computer-based therapy for milder, but more common mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety should be made available to any patients in England who could benefit from it from April [2007].”
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Strategic Health Authority
NHS East Midlands provides strategic leadership to NHS organisations in the counties of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire and Rutland. These organisations have a total NHS budget of £5.7bn, and serve a combined population of 4.3 million.
The role of NHS East Midlands is to ensure that local health systems operate effectively and efficiently and that national standards and priorities are met in order to continually improve services for patients.
We work in partnership with NHS organisations, regional government and other bodies and are ultimately accountable to the Secretary of State for Health.
