Mental health services are under pressure like never before. Backlogs are growing as referrals for neurodiversity assessments surge and demand rises across all age groups. By the time patients reach services, they have often deteriorated significantly from when they were first referred. They arrive with complex needs and high expectations, hoping for answers and sometimes even a cure.
The reality is that providers can only deliver what they are commissioned to do. With a fixed number of appointments, it is impossible to meet every expectation.
As a GP myself, I see the fallout. This mismatch leads to frustration, deterioration after discharge, and re-referrals. It leads to patients cycling through the system, visiting their GP or Crisis Centre in desperation, or dropping out of services altogether. And it creates tension with commissioners over value for money and contract sustainability.
The NHS Long Term Plan sets ambitious targets. It aims for 915,000 more courses of NHS Talking Therapies by 2028/29, 73,500 more people accessing mental health support, and shorter waiting lists for children and young people’s community mental health services. These are not small goals. They require a fundamental shift in how care is delivered.
Simply increasing appointment numbers will not be enough. The workforce is already stretched, and budgets are tight. If we continue with the same model, we will fail to meet these targets and fail the patients who need us most.
At the recent Convenzis Patient Flow Summit I attended, acute care leaders shared how they are improving throughput by extending interventions beyond the hospital walls. Care begins before admission and continues after discharge, reaching into the community, into care facilities and into patients’ homes. Mental health needs the same approach.
Imagine a patient arriving for their first appointment already in a better place, equipped with digital tools that prepare them for therapy and restore structure to their lives. Between appointments, they can learn about their condition, apply strategies taught in therapy, and receive personalised AI support to continue recovery at home.
When they leave the service, care should not stop. Packages should include digital relapse prevention tools, self-monitoring apps, peer-to-peer support platforms, and on-demand digital access to practitioners. This is not about replacing clinicians. It is about amplifying their impact and creating continuity of care that the traditional model cannot deliver.
Digital health is not a nice-to-have. It is a necessity. Without it, we will continue to see patients deteriorate while waiting, arrive with unrealistic expectations, and cycle back into services after discharge. With it, we can create a model where patients are active participants in their recovery, supported by technology that bridges the gaps between appointments and beyond discharge.
This approach also aligns with the NHS vision for patient empowerment. The Long Term Plan talks about care plans, personal health budgets, and approved health apps. These are not abstract ideas. They are practical tools that can transform outcomes if we embed them into mental health pathways.
Providers, such as Merseycare, and commissioners, such as the Mental Health Commission Canada, are working with ORCHA to take care beyond organisational walls. They are using patient-facing digital tools to empower patients, activate their potential, and improve outcomes. These tools are not just apps on a phone. They are curated, clinically assured solutions that integrate with care plans and support clinicians to deliver better results.
Start by reviewing your current care provision.
Where does it begin? Where does it end? Then ask what could be achieved if digital health extended that journey. Look at the gaps between referral and first appointment, between sessions, and after discharge. These are the spaces where patients are most vulnerable and where digital health can make the biggest difference.
Engage your teams. Digital transformation is not just about technology. It is about culture, confidence, and collaboration. Clinicians need to feel supported, not replaced. Patients need to feel empowered, not abandoned to an app.
Finally, choose partners who understand governance, safety, and assurance. ORCHA is the world leader in health app assessment, libraries, prescribing tools, and automated deployment. We are helping mental health providers across the UK and Canada to embed digital health safely and effectively.
The future of mental health care will not be built inside clinic walls. It will be built in the spaces between - before, during, and after appointments - where patients live their lives and where technology can help them thrive.