Dr-Julian will provide 24/7 access to wellbeing tools, specialist clinicians and virtual appointments for patients referred by the region's NHS WorkWell advisors. In addition, it will provide a dedicated online wellbeing and therapy service for NHS staff across the region.

Dr Julian Nesbitt, founder and chief executive of Dr-Julian, said: ‘North East and North Cumbria shows what is possible when clinical care and digital systems are designed together. This is not simply an app roll out - it is healthcare infrastructure that enables whole regions to deliver consistent, high-quality support for staff, practitioners and communities.

‘We are moving beyond service delivery to provide the platforms underpinning modern wellbeing, therapy and population-level support. This programme demonstrates that regions do not need to build new systems to modernise care — with the right platform, they can rapidly move from fragmented provision to a unified, coherent model.'

The programme builds on work led by Health Innovation North East and North Cumbria, which partnered with the ICB to identify and implement innovations that help people remain economically active. The North East and North Cumbria region has some of the highest rates of people out of work due to mental ill-health.