Mental health strategy for England: techUK response to DHSC call for evidence
techUK has submitted its response to the Department of Health and Social Care's Call for Evidence to inform the new cross-government Mental Health Strategy for England.
Drawing on the expertise of our members across digital health and AI, including providers of digital therapeutics, AI-enabled triage and referral platforms, virtual therapy services, and data and analytics tools used across health, social care and education, the response sets out where digital innovation can improve mental health outcomes, and what government can do to enable safe, effective adoption at scale.
A central message of the response is that digital and AI tools should complement, not replace, relational care. Hybrid models – combining digital self-management, AI-enabled triage and virtual support with human-led therapeutic relationships – offer the greatest opportunity to improve access and outcomes at scale. The response also highlights the importance of neuroinclusive design, so that digital services are accessible and effective for neurodivergent people from the outset, and of using data as a strategic enabler to shift mental health support from reactive to proactive and preventative.
The response covers the current evidence base for digital and AI tools, including the distinct regulatory pathway for digital therapeutics as clinically validated medical devices; how linked, interoperable data across health, social care, education, housing and employment can support earlier intervention; the strongest evidence-based approaches to prevention and suicide reduction; how digital and community-based models can support the "missing middle" who fall outside NHS thresholds; and the commissioning, funding and accountability reforms needed to embed these approaches sustainably.
techUK's recommendations to government include investing in hybrid digital-human care models; prioritising neuroinclusive design; establishing a clear national framework for the safe, ethical and clinically governed use of AI and data in mental health services; enabling linked, interoperable data across sectors; funding and expanding community-based and digital support for the missing middle; reforming commissioning and funding models around prevention and shared outcomes; embedding place-based analytics into population health management; and funding evidence-based digital therapeutics on a comparable footing to medicines, tied to positive NICE recommendations.
