A DOCTOR who launched his own therapy app says it could solve the national mental health crisis.

The Dr Julian app connects trained psychotherapists from across the UK and internationally with people needing help for mental health issues.

Dr Julian Nesbitt, who works as a GP and doctor at GWH, developed the app after witnessing long waits for patients needing mental health support.

“I was an A&E doctor and I got fed up with people coming in and trying to kill themselves,” he told the Adver.

“We see a lot of patients that need to have psychotherapy support, and that’s the main way to get them better.

“To get the assessment takes about two weeks which is fine, but to get the one-on-one appointment can be 18-months, a huge amount of time, which is totally inappropriate, and they end up in GPs and A&E departments.”

The app allows patients to book an appointment with a choice of therapist, when they want, and whether they want to do a video or text-based session.

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The app has two NHS contracts and is looking to scale it up across other NHS providers who could refer patients when they reach max capacity.

“I’ve been trying to get through to Swindon for God knows how long but they’re not listening to me at the moment,” he added.

“For me it’s a way to solve the mental crisis, because more and more people are getting mental health problems and we are not coping as a system. We simply don’t have enough therapists.”