Ultrasis Plc Regulatory News (ULT)

13 Feb 2008 08:30

Ultrasis PLC13 February 2008 Press release 13th February 2008 Ultrasis plc Leading Universities purchase Relief Series and Beating the Blues programmes Ultrasis is pleased to announce the purchase of its Relief Series and Beatingthe Blues programmes by six leading Universities. The Universities involved will be Manchester University, Trinity University,University College Cork, University of Teesside, University of Hertfordshire andCoventry University. Several of these Universities will be working incollaboration to look at the benefits of providing on-line access to support theemotional and psychological needs of their students. The Universities will alsomake the programmes available to employees. Ultrasis will be working in partnership with the Universities to fully implementthe programmes in time for the next academic year, with many getting ready to'go live' much sooner. John Smith, Executive Director at Ultrasis said: "This represents a greatopportunity to work in partnership and to identify how best to deploy ourprogrammes within academia. The Universities all have well developed supportservices for their students and staff and we are delighted that they have agreedto work with us". He added: "This represents a new market opportunity for Ultrasis and, withapproximately 300 Universities and many other Higher Education providers, wehope to see increased sales in this area." - ends - For further information please contact: Ultrasis plc: Nigel Brabbins, Chief Executive +44 (0) 20 7566 3900 nbrabbins@ultrasis.com www.ultrasis.com JMFinn Capital Markets Ltd, NOMAD and Joint Broker Geoff Nash +44 (0) 20 7600 1658 Media enquiries:Capital MS&L James Madsen +44 (0) 20 7307 5330 james.madsen@capitalmsl.com Notes to editors: About Ultrasis plc Cognitive Behavioural therapy (CBT) is the psychological treatment of choice forpeople suffering from anxiety and depression, but the cost of a course of faceto face treatment (£750) and the shortage of therapists has seriously hamperedprovision, with waiting times in some areas stretching up to two years. NICEclinical guidelines for depression and anxiety (published in Dec 2004)emphasised the importance of this therapy and at the same time recommended thatsufferers from mild depression should not, initially, be given drugs andself-help material, preferably based on CBT, should be offered. Beating the Blues is an eight-week, web-based treatment programme for depressionbased on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. Following a rigorous examination by theNational Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), "Beating the Blues" was approved by NICE in February 2006 with a requirement that it be madeavailable across the NHS as an option for all people with mild and moderatedepression. Guidance arising from NICE Health Technology Assessments is binding on the NHSand, based on undertakings from ministers, implementation of guidance wasexpected to be funded within twelve months of publication. However, this timetable to implement was in effect extended by another year to2007/8, when the Rt Hon Patricia Hewitt, then the Secretary of State for Health,at the MIND conference in March 2007 speaking approvingly of "Beating the Blues", said: "Computer-based therapy for milder, but more common mental healthconditions such as depression and anxiety should be made available to anypatients in England who could benefit from it from April 2007," a deadline ofdays, impossible to achieve. This commitment was reiterated in the Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) ofNovember 2007, when the Rt Hon Alan Johnson MP, the new Secretary of State forHealth, announced the provision of another £170m for the Improving Access toPsychological Therapies programme. In defiance of declared government policy PCTs prove persistently slow toimplement. The ineffective response of senior staff in the DH and ministers isto advise patients to complain. We do receive a steady and growing stream ofinquiries from members of the public asking why their GPs are not able toprovide BtB. Ultimately over 3 million people per year should benefit fromBeating the Blues(R) at costs a fraction of those for providing face to facetherapy or antidepressants Beating the Blues(R), unlike many of the existing methods used to provide 'talking therapies', does not require years of expensive therapist trainingbefore it can be deployed to patients, is available at times that suit thepatients' needs , can be increased in volume to meet demand and is based on theprinciple of individual empowerment, enabling people to take more control oftheir own health profile, reducing long term dependency on health systems. Seven out of Ten patients suffering from depression who used Beating the Blues(R) required no further treatment. Waiting lists for face to face therapyextend to 18 months in some areas. Deployment of Beating the Blues(R) will cutthese to a matter of days and help deliver another of the government's majorcommitments, the 18 week pathway. Ultrasis was the first company to offer computerised products based on CognitiveBehavioural Therapy (CBT) and interactive multimedia, and is the world leader inthe field. The products help people tackle stress, anxiety and depression, and afull spectrum of related chronic conditions. www.ultrasis.comwww.thewellnessshop.co.uk This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange