4 minute read
Staffing services
Medical technology
Ieso Digital Health appoints chief clinical officer
Ieso Digital Health, a digital health company specialising in internet-enabled, evidence-based psychological therapies, has appointed Stephen Freer as chief clinical officer, succeeding Sarah Bateup who becomes chair of Ieso’s clinical advisory board and a clinical consultant.
Freer will be responsible for providing clinical governance, quality and patient safety across the organisation, and for mental health treatments and products.
Freer joined Ieso in 2016 as clinical lead, having previously worked with the organisation as a clinical affiliate cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) therapist in 2014. He has since worked in several senior clinical leadership roles, most recently as clinical director.
Over the past six years, Freer has worked collaboratively with the clinical and product teams and in close partnership with Bateup. He has been central in managing the response to spikes in demand for mental health services during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Beyond Ieso, Freer has held Staffing services The MCG Group has acquired Ipswich-based Poppy Nursing and Care Services, a supplier of nurses and carers to hospital trusts and care homes across Suffolk, Norfolk, Essex and the wider UK.
The MCG Group, which has rebranded from McGinley Group, is a collection of companies providing services in the aerospace and aviation, construction, education, healthcare and technology sectors.
The acquisition of Poppy Nursing and Care complements MGG’s healthcare recruitment brand, MCG Healthcare, which specialises in placing primary and secondary care professionals, including Stephen Freer, chief clinical officer, Ieso Digital Health
senior clinical positions within the healthcare sector including directing his own private practice, South West CBT, and leading clinical operations at Somerset Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. He was also an associate lecturer at the University of Exeter.
Nigel Pitchford, chief executive at Ieso, said: “Stephen is welpositioned to take on the role as our new CCO; his unique clinical insight, combined with his commercial and operational experience, has already proven invaluable to the company in his prior roles. He has witnessed first-hand the benefits that patients receive from psychotherapy, as well nursing, doctors and allied health professionals into public and private sector healthcare settings.
Colm McGinley, chief executive of The MCG Group, said: “This is our first healthcare acquisition and will further strengthen our group, building on the start we have already made in the healthcare market. Whilst we continue to grow organically, this further supports our five-year growth plans and our vision to be recognised as a group of companies people love to work for and with.”
Ash Higgs, director of MCG Healthcare, added: “It was clear from the outset that both our work as the challenges they face within the current mental healthcare system. No doubt, the Covid-19 pandemic has given rise to many additional threats to mental wellbeing and Stephen will continue to move forward our mission of delivering world-class mental treatments to those who need it.”
Freer added: “Joining Ieso was the best decision I’ve made in my career. I have long been an advocate for the adoption of digital therapies and services alongside traditional models of care to provide patients with improved access and choice. The clinical data insights and quality assurance that online cultures and our focus on quality care align. With our existing presence in mainly the North and South of England, and Poppy Nursing and Care Services predominantly supporting the Southeast, there is already great potential to maximise and align the regional strengths of both operations.”
Claire Woodman, Poppy Nursing and Care Services’ managing director said: “While it’s a difficult decision to sell a business that you’ve worked so hard to build, it was evident from the outset that our two businesses had a clear synergy. I look forward to the transition of our business into The MCG Group talking therapies offers allows us to continually learn what works for whom and adapt to provide therapists with the best advice, support and clinical tools to treat patients in the most effective way. Quite honestly, it’s groundbreaking!
“Clinical outcomes for patients experiencing common mental health problems, such as anxiety and depression, have remained around the 50% mark for well over 10 years which is an unacceptable rate in any area of healthcare. We are seeing that more traditional models of a one-size-fits-all approach aren’t allowing services to break through this barrier, and we are investing our efforts in our therapist network to raise and push beyond this current accepted standard of care.”
Working with 45% of the UK’s clinical commissioning groups and more than 27 NHS providers, Ieso provides an online CBT service for mental health patients. The company says it aims to expand on its clinical network of 650 NHS and
private therapists across the UK. and ensuring the continuation of great service to our clients.”
Kelly-Anne Byres, Poppy Nursing and Care Services’ finance director, added: “We’re confident that The MCG Group is a great fit for our business. Their focus on people really stood out to us, as did their commitment to excellence, assuring us that the quality line we’ve worked so hard to build, will continue into the new ownership.”
Poppy Nursing and Care Services retain its branding and trading name, working alongside MCG Healthcare. Over time, The MCG Group says it plans to merge the brand into MCG Healthcare.
