HealthTech projects awarded £1.5m to support child mental health

The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) has announced more than £1.5 million of funding for 17 HealthTech projects to reduce waiting times for children and young people in need of mental healthcare and support.

Children and young people in the UK often face long waits for mental health services and neurodevelopmental assessments, which can worsen conditions, disrupt education, increase family stress, and drive up healthcare costs.

The NIHR funding is for solutions that can help to streamline services, detect problems earlier, and deliver timely, personalised support.

They include AI and digital tools designed to spot early signs of autism, predict what support children might need and connect physical and mental health in one platform.

Professor Mike Lewis, scientific director for innovation at NIHR, said: “We are proud to announce NIHR funding for 17 innovative health technologies that will make a real difference for children and young people who need mental health support.

“Reducing waiting times is vital to improving mental health outcomes, and by innovating in both community and hospital settings, we’re helping children and young people get the care they need, when they need it.”

The projects are funded through the Invention for Innovation (i4i) Funding at the Speed of Translation (FAST) programme, in partnership with the NIHR HealthTech (HRC) Research Centre in Paediatrics and Child Health.

One project will develop and test an AI triage tool within a digital health platform called EnrichMyCare, which is used in the NHS to help families share important information about their child’s needs and development.

The new AI tool will recommend the right care pathway, predict what services need to be involved and ease pressure on clinicians, helping families get support sooner.

Another project is testing a digital triage system to prioritise children on neurodevelopmental waiting lists by severity of need. It uses HealthTracker, an established tool in child health services that collects information from families and monitors symptoms.

Professor Paul Dimitri, director of the NIHR HRC in Paediatrics and Child Health, said: “Children and young people with mental health challenges and neurodevelopmental conditions including ADHD and autism deserve timely, personalised care and technology has a vital role to play in making that possible.

“At the HRC, we’re focused on accelerating innovations that reduce delays, empower families, and support clinicians with smarter tools.

“The NIHR i4i FAST funding to support these companies in developing vital technologies marks a crucial step toward building a more responsive and equitable system for the children and young people who need it most.”

Meanwhile, in July 2025, two medical technologies tackling brain injury from Addenbrooke’s Hospital, part of Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, received a share of £3m in funding from NIHR through the i4i FAST Awards.