A NEW mobile app will give struggling Swindon residents round-the-clock access to counsellors.

Launching in September, the Dr Julian app is the brainchild of Great Western Hospital-based doctor Julian Nesbitt.

He was inspired to develop the innovative mobile app after long shifts in the GWH’s accident and emergency department.

“In A&E you were dealing with the very acute end of mental ill-health,” said Julian, 28, of South Cerney.

“I felt that with every conversation I had with someone with mental health problems, they weren’t getting the help they needed.

“The NHS does a brilliant job, but the waiting lists to see a counsellor can be up to six months. When you’ve got an issue you aren’t always able to get that help.”

The app matches individuals with therapists and counsellors qualified in the UK. People can book video appointments through the app.

London-born Julian, who studied medicine at Bristol University and did his junior doctor training at GWH, said: “There’s lots of evidence proving that video link techniques are just as effective for mental health as face-to-face therapies.”

When they sign up to the free app, people are asked to answer questions about anxiety and depression. Before their first session, a therapist will also run through questions intended to get a picture of the person’s medical history.

All the details are stored securely, Julian said. “We’ve got the highest quality of security and governance. As a doctor myself, I know what the security needs are around health information.”

People using the app will be able to request the therapists’ notes from online video sessions, but it won’t be made available as standard through the app.

So far, more than 65 therapists have signed up to the scheme. They range from generalists to specialists in areas like family counselling.

Julian said: “All the therapists really like the app so far. They like that it’s easy to use and that they can put in when they’re free and work around their day job.”

The app was developed with online psychotherapy expert Philippa Weitz, who has also designed the training for the app’s therapists.

Julian added: “The app isn’t going to be for everyone, obviously. Some people will want that time spent sitting in a room. But lots of people don’t have the time or they might have anxiety issues and would rather not leave their house.”

Currently, the app is free to download – although hourly sessions range in price from £45 to £100, depending on the experience of the therapists.

However, Julian hopes that the technology might be taken up by NHS bosses, allowing therapy sessions to be offered for free to certain patients.

“It’s like Uber,” he said. “You’ve got all the technology there, but the NHS sometimes takes some more time to take up the new tech.”

So far, the app has cost more than £40,000 to build. Funding has come from Julian himself, as well as family members.

He is currently training at GWH to become a GP, giving him more spare time to devote to the app.

But he hopes to take up a place on the NHS’s Clinical Entrepreneur Programme – allowing junior doctors to take time out to pursue side projects like the Dr Julian app.

Julian said: “I’ve always been fascinated with mental health. The heart and lungs are a pump, but there are so many things about the brain that we just don’t understand.

“My goal is to increase the accessibility of mental health services.”

The app launches on September 1 and is available on iOS Apple devices. Visit: www.dr-julian.com