Strathclyde has opened procurement for digital mental health services under its SUMIT project, covering 1,500 test beds.
The University of Strathclyde is seeking providers for a range of digital services for its Substance Use and Mental Health Interventions using Digital Technology project.
The project aims to develop and evaluate the digital transformation of services in test bed environments for 1,500 beneficiaries.
A test bed is a real-world setting where new services or technologies can be trialled and assessed before wider use.
The programme will work with four local demonstrator sites, deliver a skills development programme for 500 staff and create a community of practice to support the use of digital products.
It will also develop three digital products to help people use digital devices or services to access support and improve health and wellbeing.
The university said the work will evaluate “what works” to inform service delivery and policy development around reducing inequality.
The procurement is split into three lots.
These cover digital tools for self-help and signposting to relevant information, guidance or support; solutions offering personalised tracking, goal setting and peer communication; and data sharing capabilities across services.
Contracts will run for an initial period of 31 months, according to the procurement notice, with options to extend for up to two further 12-month periods.
Bidders are expected to meet requirements including a minimum turnover of £200,000 to £500,000 over the past three years.
Selection will be based only on previous experience.
Organisations must provide evidence of one example from the past three years of delivering service innovation in a digital context, including digital solutions in healthcare settings or collaborative digital product development and implementation.
The procurement comes amid wider activity around digital mental health services.
South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust highlighted digital tools in mental health pathways at its latest board meeting, including ambient voice technology and virtual reality.
Ambient voice technology uses software to capture and process spoken clinical conversations, often to support documentation and administration.
Virtual reality uses computer-generated environments that people can interact with, while extended reality is a broader term covering virtual, augmented and mixed reality.
The trust said ambient voice technology would be piloted for administrative work, while automated information sharing would allow schools to check in and consider support options for children.
A pilot using extended reality as an intervention for young people with anxiety or emotion-related school avoidance is continuing.
The trust is also focusing on improvements after digitising neurodevelopmental screening processes. Neurodevelopmental screening helps identify conditions that affect brain development, learning, behaviour or communication.
The UK government has also launched a call for evidence to inform a new mental health strategy for England as part of the next phase of its 10-Year Health Plan reform programme.
“This review, chaired by Professor Peter Fonagy, will make recommendations on how we can shift from a mental health system that responds late and through diagnosis, to one that responds earlier, more proportionately and with improving participation in education and work in mind,” the government said.
Elsewhere, “positive early results” have reportedly been seen from a virtual ward pilot for older adults with complex mental health needs in Sussex.
A virtual ward allows patients to receive hospital-level support at home or in a care setting, using remote monitoring and community-based care.
The Sussex pilot forms part of a wider regional transformation programme designed to help older people remain in their own home or care home, rather than being admitted to hospital.
The programme also aims to reduce distress and confusion linked to hospital admissions, as well as discharge delays while patients wait for support with ongoing care needs.
