Insomnia affects one in ten adults. Poor sleep has a negative impact on physical and mental health, performance and safety. We led the first large-scale NHS rollout of direct access digital medicine in partnership with Big Health, the company behind Sleepio, an evidence-based digital sleep improvement programme based on cognitive behavioural therapy. By developing relationships with communities, employers and primary care around 28,000 people in our region accessed Sleepio during this project which was funded by Innovate UK and supported by the NHS.
Outcomes included a 56% fall in use of sleep medication and a drop in anxiety symptoms of 70%. Independent evaluation by the Office of Health Economics estimated potential savings to the NHS in England over three years of £99 million. NICE subsequently recommended Sleepio as a treatment for insomnia and it was made freely available to NHS staff during the pandemic as part of a package of health and wellbeing support for key workers.
Read more about the first digital therapeutic adopted in the NHS
‘New name … same aim: Building on a decade of health innovation’