Expanding access to personalised digital mental health support
Traditional services often struggle to deliver scalable, inclusive, and personalised mental health care. As a result, many NHS patients – such as veterans, cancer patients, pregnant people, and those with long-term conditions – face limited access to tailored mental health support.
To address this, the NIHR HRC in Sustainable Innovation worked with the team of experts behind Iona Mind to create a digital platform which delivers evidence-based mental health support via app-based tools. The platform, and tools offered, have been co-designed with patient groups to ensure accessibility, relevance, and clinical impact across diverse populations.
Impact:
Iona Mind provides vital support for underrepresented and high-need groups, with tailored tools that are right for them. Early testing demonstrated strong user engagement and high acceptability. Designed to integrate into NHS care pathways, the platform helps meet growing demand for accessible mental health care, while reducing waiting times.
What we did:
To support and enable development, our HRC:
- Enabled co-design with patients and clinicians through focus groups and testing
- Supported inclusive development with underrepresented communities
- Enabled real-world NHS testing and feedback
- Provided strategic input on clinical framing, funding, and system alignment
