An eighteen month pilot scheme that provides online support to people in Derbyshire suffering from common mental health problems, such as work related stress, anxiety and relationship difficulties, has been launched by NHS Hardwick Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and the East Midlands Academic Health Science Network (EMAHSN).

Online support will be provided through Big White Wall, which has already helped more than 30,000 people, including thousands from the UK armed forces community, and is also supported by the Ministry of Defence, the Department of Health and Help for Heroes.

Big White Wall offers free, safe anonymous online support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week from the comfort of your own home. There is a choice of safe therapeutic services, including self-help courses, also accessible online.
Big White Wall is available from 1 July to all Derbyshire residents aged over 16. People should visit www.bigwhitewall.com and enter their Derbyshire postcode to access the service. 95% of members report feeling better as a result of using Big White Wall, and 73% share something for the first time.

Dr Steve Lloyd, Chair of NHS Hardwick CCG which leads on the planning and buying of the county’s mental health services, said:

“We are delighted to be piloting this innovative service. Patients are at the heart of everything we do and they have told us that they would benefit from online support.

“One in four people in Derbyshire will experience anxiety, depression or other common mental health problem during their lives. We also know that talking about mental health issues can be difficult.

“Big White Wall offers people the benefit of being able to access safe, anonymous support to share what’s troubling them, whenever they need it. Through support from their peers, self-help courses and group programmes, members are encouraged to find ways to better manage their daily lives.”

“Rachel Munton, Managing Director from the EMAHSN said; “The East Midlands AHSN is delighted to be supporting this innovative service which has already proven beneficial to people who have used it in other parts of the country. We are very much looking forward to working with Hardwick CCG, Big White Wall Ltd and NIHR MindTech Healthcare Technology Co-operative (HTC) on the evaluation of the service and to enable the introduction of similar mental health support services across the whole of the East Midlands”.

The service is funded by the East Midlands Academic Health Science Network. This is the first time that an online mental health service has been trialled in the East Midlands and the scheme will be evaluated by NIHR MindTech HTC.