Our Entrepreneurs: Rachel Brown

In our latest #OurEntrepreneurs profile we meet cohort 7 Clinical Entrepreneur Rachel Brown, Consultant Psychiatrist.

Tell us a bit about yourself 

I am a consultant psychiatrist in a crisis team in Edinburgh and co-founder of MetPsy, an online service for metabolic mental health coaching. I published a book in 2022 regarding the connections between metabolic health and mental health. Metabolic psychiatry is my primary interest and passion.

Why did you apply to the programme and what are you looking forward to?

I found out about the programme via email, and I was keen to apply as I am in the process of setting up a Metabolic Psychiatry service in the NHS in addition to being new to the business world.

I hope the NHS CEP will support my innovation by exploring negotiating service development, engaging key parties and promotion of the service.

Tell us about your innovation  

I plan to offer a Metabolic Psychiatry Clinic where patients I have treated using metabolic strategies for their mental health can be followed-up and supported. This service will be consultative and collaborate with other clinicians involved in the patient’s care. I also plan to offer an opinion service for other patients within the secondary care service who are interested in optimising their metabolic health, with the aim of improving treatment outcomes for people with severe mental disorders.

I came up with the idea after I had been working with patients in the crisis service who wished to implement metabolic treatment strategies, but I was unable to follow them up to completion due to them no longer requiring the crisis service input. I aim to offer the option of metabolic treatment for major mental disorders in addition to the usual standard of care or as an alternative for those who are unable to tolerate medications.

Based on the evidence I have explored to date; we hope that the service will improve treatment outcomes for those who are treatment-resistant and also improve physical health outcomes.

What motivates you? 

I enjoy understanding the root cause of illness and empowering others to take control of their recovery using lifestyle measures.

What are your ambitions for the next year?

By next year, I aim to have the NHS clinic established and I have plans to also make it a research clinic, if research grants allow.

Why do you think innovation is important in healthcare?

Healthcare staff are busy and often don’t have the time to keep up to date with the latest research. Innovation is crucial to allow new treatments, better patient outcomes, more efficiency of services and better treatment access.

How can we find out more?

Please visit the www.metpsy.com for more information.