Key Points
- North London NHS Foundation Trust has partnered with digital health firm Psyomics to enhance mental health service accessibility for over 1.6 million residents across Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Haringey, and Islington.
- The Psyomics Platform, developed with experts from the University of Cambridge, serves as a digital front door for adults aged 18–65, capturing patient-reported data on symptoms and personal circumstances to guide clinical decision-making.
- The initiative is part of the Trust’s £25 million, three-year Community Mental Health Transformation Programme, now in its final year, aimed at preventing serious illness and promoting faster recovery through early intervention.
- A quarter of platform submissions are completed outside standard office hours, significantly improving access to care during evenings and weekends.
- The system streamlines referrals, reducing repetition for patients and enhancing engagement, while standardising care pathways and reducing administrative burdens on clinicians.
- Jess Lievesley, Chief Operating Officer at North London NHS Foundation Trust, stated the partnership marks a “significant advancement” in delivering timely, personalised mental health support.
- Dr Melinda Rees, Chief Executive at Psyomics, affirmed the platform’s mission to make services “more accessible, efficient and patient-centred,” positioning the collaboration as a potential national model.
- Future expansion plans include integrating the platform with Talking Therapies, Neurodiversity services, and Older Adults care.l
- The partnership aligns with the NHS Long Term Plan and the North Central London Integrated Care System’s (ICS) strategic objectives to deliver place-based, community-focused mental health support.
- The initiative builds on existing collaborations such as the iCope talking therapies service, which offers cognitive behavioural therapy, counselling, and mindfulness to residents in Camden and Islington.
What Is the New Mental Health Partnership in North London?
As reported by HealthTech Digital, North London NHS Foundation Trust has entered a strategic collaboration with Psyomics, a Cambridge-based digital health company, to transform access to mental health care across five boroughs. This partnership introduces the Psyomics Platform as a central digital gateway for adult mental health services, aiming to simplify the journey from initial contact to appropriate clinical support. The initiative directly addresses long-standing challenges in mental health care, including delayed access, fragmented referrals, and inconsistent patient experiences, particularly in one of England’s most densely populated urban regions.
The rollout targets over 1.6 million residents in Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Haringey, and Islington, areas served by the North London NHS Foundation Trust, which provides a wide range of specialist mental health services. According to Jess Lievesley, Chief Operating Officer at the Trust,
“Our collaboration with Psyomics represents a significant advancement in how we support mental health across the communities of North Central London”.
She highlighted that combining clinical expertise with digital innovation enables “a more personalised care experience” and ensures individuals receive timely support.
How Does the Psyomics Digital Platform Work?
The Psyomics Platform functions as a structured digital assessment tool, allowing adults aged 18–65 to self-report their mental health status, symptoms, and personal circumstances online. Developed in collaboration with clinical psychologists, psychiatrists, and researchers at the University of Cambridge, the system gathers comprehensive, standardised data that clinicians use to determine the most suitable care pathway. This digital front door reduces reliance on traditional phone or paper-based referrals, which often lead to delays and information loss.
A key feature of the platform is its accessibility: data from HealthTech Digital indicates that 25% of submissions are completed outside regular office hours, reflecting demand for flexible access to mental health support. This capability ensures help remains available during evenings and weekends, when many individuals may feel most distressed or have time to seek assistance. Furthermore, the system streamlines the referral process, eliminating the need for patients to repeatedly recount their experiences to multiple professionals, thereby improving engagement and reducing emotional burden.
How Does This Fit Into Broader Mental Health Reforms?
This partnership is a cornerstone of the Trust’s £25 million Community Mental Health Transformation Programme, a three-year initiative launched in 2021 and now entering its final phase. As outlined by North London Mental Health Partnership, the programme aligns with the NHS Long Term Plan and the Community Mental Health Framework (CMHF), which advocates for integrated, community-based care across health, local government, and voluntary sectors. The initiative works in coordination with the North Central London Integrated Care System (ICS), aiming to deliver place-based services that prevent serious illness and support long-term recovery.
The transformation programme has already fostered new collaborations with service users, carers, local communities, and the Voluntary Care Sector (VCS), embedding sustainable changes across community mental health services. The Psyomics partnership exemplifies this shift toward innovation and integration, leveraging technology to meet rising demand. As noted by HealthTech Digital, the model could serve as a national blueprint for modernising NHS mental health pathways, offering a scalable solution for other trusts facing similar pressures.
What Are the Future Plans for This Initiative?
According to HealthTech Digital, the Trust plans to expand the Psyomics Platform beyond adult community services to include Talking Therapies, Neurodiversity support, and Older Adults care in the near future. This phased rollout reflects a long-term vision of creating a unified digital ecosystem for mental health across all age groups and specialities. The integration with existing services such as iCope, the talking therapies programme for Camden and Islington, will further enhance accessibility to evidence-based treatments like cognitive behavioural therapy, counselling, and mindfulness.
Dr Melinda Rees, Chief Executive at Psyomics, stated:
“Our mission is to make mental health services more accessible, efficient and patient-centred”.
She added that the collaboration with North London NHS Foundation Trust enables “a simpler, faster route to the care people need” and contributes to shaping “the future of mental health care”. With mental health demand continuing to rise nationally, this partnership represents a proactive step toward building resilient, responsive, and equitable services for North London’s diverse population.
