Making mental health services accessible in remote Scottish islands through digital solutions

Argyll and Bute Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP), part of NHS Highland, serves a population of remote inhabited islands. It provides primary and secondary care services, including mental health services.

Key Statistics

• 100% of referrals were offered an appointment within three weeks, exceeding the national target of 18 weeks
• 83% attendance rates for appointments
• 77.2% reliable improvement in mental health conditions
• 50% recovery rate among service users

The Challenge

Due to its geography, Argyll and Bute HSCP, serving 17% of its population across 23 remote inhabited islands, struggled with long-term vacancies and the high cost of temporary workforce solutions, resulting in growing waitlists and treatment delays. They sought to expand their existing text-based therapy service by offering a broader range of therapeutic options to address the diverse needs of their community.

Why Xyla

Xyla, part of the Acacium Group, is dedicated to digital healthcare transformation, particularly in remote and underserved areas. Using innovative technologies and clinical expertise, it focuses on increasing accessibility and reducing disparities in care.

Xyla’s capacity to manage higher levels of severity, combined with its collaborative and proactive approach to partnership working, strengthens psychological provision, ensuring comprehensive and personalised care..

The Solution

Significant time was dedicated to co-creating the service to meet the needs of high-severity and complex patients, often unsupported by typical providers due to associated risks. A tailored solution was developed by a project team comprising key stakeholders from clinical leadership and operational teams, with close collaboration between Xyla’s and Argyll and Bute HSCP’s clinical leads to ensure risk management and continuous updates. Processes were developed involving a specialist workforce experienced in handling such complexities, including clinical counselling psychologists and secondary care therapists. Xyla’s clinical lead collaborated closely with the Argyll and Bute HSCP’s clinical lead to manage risks and ensure continuous updates. This included face-to-face discussions in Argyll and Bute to ensure the service would be safe, effective, and aligned with local risk and crisis teams. This meticulous front-end planning distinguished the service and was a critical factor in its adoption.

“While cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) suits many, it’s not ideal for everyone. We were able to co-design the service with Xyla to address this by offering guided self-help (GSH), CBT, eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR), counselling, interpersonal therapy (IPT) and dynamic interpersonal therapy (DIT) for Argyll & Bute. This diverse array of services allows us to tailor care to each individual’s needs, ensuring effective and personalised treatment. Partnering with Xyla means we can confidently provide the right care at the right time, enhancing mental health outcomes for our community.”

Argyll and Bute Health and Social Care Partnership

Impact

Improved access to mental health services

The provision of digital services ensured that all service users referred were offered appointments within three weeks, significantly reducing wait times and providing timely access to care. With an 83% attendance rate, the service demonstrated strong service user engagement, indicating that the flexible and accessible nature of the digital services resonated with the community.

Positive outcomes

Xyla’s ability to co-design services with the health board allowed for a bespoke solution that directly addressed the service user’s needs. A 77.2% rate of reliable improvement among service users highlights the effectiveness of digital interventions in addressing mental health issues, with 50% of service users achieving full recovery.

Scalable support

Xyla’s network of over 3,000 trained clinicians immediately increased capacity, quickly ensuring the demand for mental health services was met. This method proved productive, as most service users opted for it, allowing for more efficient use of clinician resources.

Innovative delivery

By collaborating with Xyla’s clinical specialists, Argyll and Bute Health and Social Care Partnership adopted an innovative strategy to manage their therapy waitlist. The service’s positioning and meticulous front-end planning instilled confidence, enabling them to embrace this new approach, enabling them to reap the benefits of this trailblazing mental health approach.

Get in touch

For more information or to discuss how we can help please contact Murray Chalmers, murray.chalmers@acaciumgroup.com