A private company is set to take on an NHS contract to provide a mental health service in Nottinghamshire. Vita Health Group will provide the Let's Talk Wellbeing service, which primarily supports adults in the city and south of the county with anxiety disorders and depression, from April.
The talking therapy service was previously run by Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, but it took the decision not to re-tender for the contract last year. NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) said it was made 'to support a greater focus on addressing health inequalities and ensuring equity across the population'.
Previously, staff within the service told Nottinghamshire Live they feared the NHS' decision to drop the contract would result in a less effective service. Vita Health Group, which is owned by French private equity firm Archimed, already has NHS contracts for IAPT (Improving Access to Psychological Therapies) services in the likes of Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Newcastle.
Read more: Nottinghamshire NHS will stop running mental health service
Maxine Bunn, system delivery director for mental health and children at Nottinghamshire ICB, said the board looked forward to working with the provider, subject to the outcome of a procurement process. "Vita Health Group will be providing IAPT services to people across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire," she said.
“This new IAPT provision is still an NHS service which will be available to anyone who needs it across the whole Integrated Care System. By providing the same level of service across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire this will help to support a greater focus on addressing health inequalities while ensuring there is an equitable service across our whole population.
“Vita Health Group bring with them many years of experience and person-centred care which will all play an important part in continuing to improve the mental health of the people of Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.”
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