New milestone for digital solution supporting mental wellbeing
Posted: 26th June 2025
A pioneering digital treatment for anxiety has reached a major milestone in South Yorkshire, with Daylight surpassing 1,000 patients accessing treatment five months ahead of schedule.
Launched in South Yorkshire in September 2024, Daylight is an instantly accessible digital mental health treatment with a virtual therapist developed by Big Health. It delivers personalised cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) accessed through a medical-grade smartphone application, offering immediate support for adults with worry and anxiety.
We have been delivering a real-world evaluation to assess Daylight’s impact in primary care on uptake and NHS resource utilisation through a collaborative effort involving Primary Care Sheffield, South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (SY ICB), and the York Health Economics Consortium (YHEC).
As of June 2025, 1,369 patients have accessed treatment through Daylight. 81% of users reported reduced tension after practising the CBT technique suggested by the Daylight app, and 69% reported practising these techniques in their daily lives without the aid of the app. These figures represent strong demand and engagement, which in turn highlights the growing need for timely access to mental health support via the NHS, in a way that reduces reliance on medication and eases pressure on frontline services.
The original target of 1,000 patients accessing treatment by September 2025 was met five months early in March, underscoring the partnership’s successful collaboration. The project leads worked closely with primary care teams across the region to ensure that Daylight was available and visible wherever patients were looking for care.
To further support the region during the evaluation, Big Health has agreed to extend provision of Daylight beyond the 1,000 patient target. This will ensure new patients continue to have access to a much-needed treatment and builds on the success of embedding Daylight into local care pathways.
Ian Wood, UK Medical Director at Big Health said “Reaching our patient access target five months early is testament to the strength of this collaboration with our NHS partners. It also highlights the scale of the opportunity for digital treatments to help meet rising levels of unmet need in mental health care. I’m delighted that Daylight is helping patients in South Yorkshire manage their anxiety in a way that’s immediate, safe, and effective.”
David Crichton, Chief Medical Officer at SY ICB said “This milestone shows how digital therapeutics like Daylight can be a game-changer, empowering patients and supporting NHS services at the same time. This early achievement reflects the potential of digital tools to transform mental health care by offering scalable, evidence-based interventions that work well alongside our front-line services”
The evaluation will continue to monitor uptake, economic outcomes and explore the potential for wider primary care adoption, aligned with the Government’s three shifts for the NHS towards digital, prevention, and care in the community.