The growth of Peppy Health within the NHS

Peppy is a user-facing app that provides personalised support to help people navigate through some of life’s big transitions.

Overview:

Peppy was founded in 2018 by Evan Harris, Max Landry and Mridula Pore. Peppy is a user-facing app that provides personalised support to help people navigate through the following life transitions: Peppy Baby, Peppy Menopause and Peppy Fertility. The app connects users directly to trained clinical practitioners that can provide one-to-one and group support and transfer users to statutory or other employer or insurance-provided services for more specific follow up. They work with organisations, including businesses and private medical insurers, to give their people access to remote, specialist support during some of life’s big transitions.

My one-to-one consultation was brilliant. The tips made a difference to my symptoms straight away. I love the fact I get expert advice within hours. Peppy is a game changer.

– Peppy Menopause User

As a responsible employer, for us, it was really important to support colleagues who needed it most. Peppy is for everyone. For us, it truly spans all genders and supports far-reaching issues.

– Theresa Winters, Culture & Employee, Proposition Lead, Santander UK.

Accelerator support:

Since embarking upon Accelerator programme Peppy have:

• Started three new pilot programmes.
• Gained a number of additional contracts in the private and public sectors.
• Gained six additional contracts in the NHS, including in six NHS Trusts.

Additional support:

• Peppy’s NHS Navigator and the DigitalHealth.London team supported the company in better understanding the complex NHS structure, funding streams, terminology, and national guidelines and requirements for digital health companies entering the NHS.
• In May 2021, DigitalHealth.London hosted a lunch and learn on “Menopause in the NHS Workplace” to discuss the challenges around menopause and benefits of Peppy Health. Over 90 AHSN and NHS colleagues attended the event which helped to raise Peppy’s profile and directly contributed to multiple incoming queries to the Peppy team regarding their menopause service.
• Peppy’s NHS Navigator provided bespoke advice and support in the development of their new services focused on men’s health, women’s health and LGBT+ health. Their NHS Navigator introduced them to NHS stakeholders to help shape and refine these new services so that they meet local health and social care needs.

One of the reasons we went with Peppy is because they have similar values to us. They want to make healthcare available to everybody, regardless of status or salary. Wickes has a similar ambition.

– Claira Singh, Diversity & Inclusion Manager, Wickes

Thank goodness for your help! I have discovered more in our short conversation than I have had from the GP in ten years.

– Peppy Menopause User

Key impacts of the product:

• Peppy can act as a non-urgent, virtual triage for certain groups, to address common questions and stream patients into the most appropriate NHS services. This can enable more efficient use of limited NHS resources, whilst improving access and providing an excellent patient experience.
• The Peppy Menopause service has a profound impact on NHS employee health and wellbeing, which contributes to workplace productivity. A pilot undertaken with NHSE/I’s workforce demonstrated that 55% of staff had taken time off work because of menopause symptoms. At the end of the trial, 60% reported less bothersome symptoms after using Peppy, and 81% felt more committed to the NHS.
• For the Techforce19 initiative, Peppy Baby was selected as the only provider to support vulnerable new and expectant parents during the Covid-19 crisis. The feasibility study showed an enormous uplift in mental wellbeing for the Peppy cohort. 48% of the users who scored in the range corresponding to ‘possible risk of depression/ anxiety’ at the beginning of the study moved into the ‘normal/ moderate’ range within just two weeks. In addition, breastfeeding rates were high amongst participants compared to local and national rates. Almost 90% of mothers were breastfeeding during the first week and 80% at eight weeks, including almost two thirds doing so exclusively. A higher proportion of mothers from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) groups were breastfeeding compared to White mothers.
• Users self-reported that they sought statutory services sooner than they otherwise would have (for more serious issues) and were able to avoid them for issues that could be addressed faster and more affordably by Peppy; this represents a potential annual saving of £300m in England.

It wasn’t until I joined your app that my symptoms started to make sense. I can say apart from hot flushes I was pretty clueless. It’s a journey I know, but hopefully one I can improve now I’m aware.

– Peppy Menopause User

Key successes so far:

Following on from the success of a pilot study run by the NHS in 2020, six trusts are funding their employee’s menopause support, by giving them access to Peppy (launching in May 2021). This will mean over 450 people will have access to Peppy menopause support through their employer (the NHS). CW+ also launched a pilot of the Peppy Menopause app; currently, staff from both the Chelsea and Westminster and West Middlesex hospitals, and their partners can join and take part in the pilot scheme. Peppy also successfully completed Techforce19 Cohort two by delivering their Peppy Baby service to over 150 parents in Greater Manchester over 12 weeks.

Peppy is currently one of twenty SMEs on the DigitalHealth.London Accelerator programme.

The DigitalHealth.London Accelerator is a collaborative programme funded by London’s three Academic Health Science Networks – UCL Partners, Imperial College Health Partners, and the Health Innovation Network, MedCity, CW+ and receives match funding from the European Regional Development Fund.