Patients will be able to access “a range of tools and treatments”, such as talking therapy and prescription medicines, “quickly and conveniently”  on Boots's website, the multiple announced today (March 2).

The on-demand mental health services include access to an online doctor for anxiety and depression treatment; to a therapist for psychological and emotional support via the Boots SupportRoom; and talking therapies powered by the medical app Livi.

Patients can also use the “How are things?” service to complete a confidential questionnaire that is reviewed by a clinician, who will then create a health report for them, the multiple added.

“The number of adults experiencing depression and anxiety is still up on pre-pandemic levels”, Boots wrote, with the multiple seeing “a rise in patients asking for mental health advice and support in its pharmacies”.

Boots pharmacists can refer patients to services

The multiple’s chief pharmacist Marc Donovan said Boots had curated the online mental health services to provide “accessible support” and help “relieve pressure on the mental health services already available through the NHS”.

“When it comes to mental health, it’s important that patients can access the treatments that suit them,” he continued, hence the varied resources available.

“Mental health issues like depression and anxiety affect people differently and there is not a one-size-fits-all approach,” Mr Donovan said.

Though pharmacists are not directly involved in delivering the services, they can “signpost to appropriate mental health services in person” from Boots’ 2,150 stores, the multiple wrote.

Boots has trained more than 4,000 Boots’ Macmillan information pharmacists on how to support patients affected by cancer, as it launched its own UK-wide palliative care service in January.