Tim Nicholls
MH-TRC Mission National Implementation Lead,
Cumbria, Northumbria, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust
Email: tim.nicholls@cntw.nhs.uk
TMS background
TMS is a clinically effective and safe treatment for depression recommended by National Institute for Care Excellence (NICE) in 2015. The Royal College of Psychiatrists issued a statement on the use of TMS for depression following the NICE recommendations. TMS is a treatment for people experiencing depression, including difficult to treat depression (DTD), also known as treatment-resistant depression (TRD).
What is TMS?
TMS works by stimulating areas of the brain that regulate mood with magnetic pulses. This stimulation increases the activity of the brain to improve symptoms of depression. While TMS is typically delivered daily, five days per week, for four to six weeks, there is now a procedure for shortening the treatment period.
Implementing a TMS service
A key step in implementing a TMS service is preparing a robust business case, which is reviewed by the Trust before funding approval. Working with a group of clinicians from the National Network of TMS Clinicians, we have developed a set of generic resources aimed at supporting clinicians interested in developing or enhancing TMS services for depression.
Resources
The generic resources address some of the dimensions in developing the business case. One resource is an example of a business case: another, considerations relevant to developing a private provision arm of a TMS service. Click on each link in the table below to download.
| Resource |
|---|
| Private Provision of TMS |
| Resource 1 TMS Business Case Notes |
| Resource 2 TMS Exemplar Business Case |
| Resource 3 Repetitive TMS Executive Summary |
Who are the resources for?
- clinicians interested in developing or enhancing TMS services
- healthcare business managers tasked with writing a business case for TMS
- any other NHS staff responsible for developing the business case for TMS
