North East health specialist, Newcastle Premier Health has partnered with The London Psychiatry Centre, of Harley Street, London, a leading national centre of excellence to offer an innovative treatment for depression.
Newcastle Premier Health is now offering repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS), which has been approved by The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for the treatment of depression in adults.
The treatment, which is not widely available in the UK, influences electrical brain activity through a pulsed magnetic field which can safely penetrate the scalp and skull without pain, to create new activity in targeted brain cells. As such, it can selectively alter activity in concentrated areas of the brain, bringing about desired effects that have been shown to be effective in treating a variety of mental health problems.
Established in 2013, Newcastle Premier Health is a leading provider of medical services in the North East and offers a one stop shop to businesses and individuals for: occupational health and wellbeing, travel medicine and primary health care. The team at Newcastle Premier Health includes experienced health professionals such as nurses, technicians, and doctors who are primary health care physicians with extensive experience of NHS general practice and a broad range of specialist skills and qualifications.
Newcastle Premier Health is working in partnership with The London Psychiatry Centre, a pioneer of the rTMS treatment, and which was a national advisor to NICE for the issuing of the guidance on rTMS to offer the treatment.
Dr Alex O’Neil Kerr, from the Royal College of Psychiatrists, reportedly commented that 30% of patients who receive rTMS are symptom free after the treatment, in line with all known published papers.
However at The London Psychiatry Centre, in a group of 150 patients, 62% of patients who have been treated for depression with rTMS have fully recovered in an average of 4.3 weeks.*
The treatment, which is an alternative to antidepressants, is carried out using state-of-the art equipment in sessions which last approximately 35-40 minutes and are given each day for five days a week, for 4-6 weeks.
In line with the introduction of rTMS, Newcastle Premier Health has appointed Kerry Reay as mental health nurse. Kerry brings with her extensive experience including over 16 years working within nursing, having held roles such as mental health nurse and community psychiatric nurse. Kerry holds a Diploma in Mental Health Nursing from Northumbria University.
The launch of the new service comes at a time of rapid growth for the company as it has also recently appointed an occupational health technician and a travel and clinic nurse. To accommodate its expansion the health specialist has also moved to larger, purpose-built facilities in Dobson House, Regent Centre Gosforth – this will allow the company to continue expanding its service offering.
Mark Philpott, business director at Newcastle Premier Health, said: “At Newcastle Premier Health, we pride ourselves on offering a holistic and integrated approach to medicine, with the aim of helping our patients achieve their physical and mental health and wellbeing goals.
“The London Psychiatry Centre is at the forefront of rTMS, and has developed and researched protocols for its delivery with exceptionally high levels of efficacy. We are delighted to be working with them to offer our patients this effective and safe intervention to help overcome depression, including treatment-resistant depression.”
Doctor Andy Zamar, consultant psychiatrist at The London Psychiatry Centre, said: “Newcastle Premier Health is renowned for offering expert, high-quality medical services and we are pleased to be partnering with them.
“At The London Psychiatry Centre we champion evidence-based treatments for psychiatric problems; we introduced rTMS following a careful study of evidence from trials and data spanning several thousand patients in the USA and Canada. We are thrilled that our own early work with this ground-breaking treatment is also bearing positive results.
“The London Psychiatry Centre was the first practice in the UK to offer rTMS treatment to patients and is one of the world leaders in pioneering the treatment. We firmly believe in the benefits of rTMS and we are excited, working with Newcastle Premier Health, for it to be available to those in the North East of England who require treatment.”
Newcastle Premier Health is partnered with fellow healthcare experts and innovators both regionally and nationally, and it works with a wide range of high profile clients including: Virgin Money, ISOS, Alnmaritec, Kail, Hitachi Rail Europe, Sunderland College, Calsonic Kansei and St Oswald’s Hospice.
For more information on the treatment, which will be available from September, visit http://www.newcastlepremierhealth.com/