Background

The Scottish government Chief Scientist Office and the Scottish Government Mental Health and Wellbeing Directorate are investing in a Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) focused on innovating mental health services in Scotland.

The competition provides an opportunity for companies, working in partnership with NHS Scotland regional Innovation Hubs to develop disruptive innovative solutions that address:

Challenge A - Supporting people who are not currently receiving treatment and addressing the backlog of patients on waiting lists.

Challenge B - Delivering person-centred and equitable Mental Health support and services to people who are currently receiving treatment by optimising clinical and social care pathways.

Voxsio are working on a project with NHS Grampian (North of Scotland Innovation Hub) with the title of "Supporting Young People Who Can’t Access Face-to-Face Services."

Working with NHS Grampian, Voxsio has created the disruptive digital health app UB-OK to give young people with gastrointestinal functional disorders access to evidence-based psychological therapies and support for their physical symptoms. Bypassing waitlists, UB-OK provides instant support, helping these young people to manage their physical and mental symptoms, creating better health outcomes.

In Phase 1 of this SBRI, Voxsio has worked with young people and NHS Clinicians to make UB-OK engaging, useful, and ethical. Voxsio will now run a Feasibility Study based on the Medical Research Council framework. This study will establish early estimates of efficacy of UB-OK and importantly prove how young people engage with the app.

The outcome of the Feasibility Study will be used to secure further funding from national bodies such as NIHR and Innovate UK to run a larger trial to produce independent clinical evidence of the effectiveness of UB-OK.

This will pave the way for the adoption of UB-OK in healthcare across Scotland and the UK. When adopted, UB-OK will directly address this SBRI Challenge delivering a sustainable, accessible, and equitable service to this vulnerable and hard-to-reach group of young people who are not currently receiving any care, accelerating the delivery of services, reducing waiting lists, and improving their quality of life.