Bupa has announced a partnership with two centres of excellence for mental health, the South London and Maudsley and the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trusts.
Under the new partnership the two Foundation Trusts will take on the role of clinical advisers to Bupa.
Bupa said this partnership would drive its "ambition to be a world leader in mental healthcare" and to ensure that its three million insured customers continue to have access to "high quality, cutting edge" treatment and care.
It will also help to tackle some of the key challenges in mental healthcare provision, such as the need for a better understanding of the relationship between mental and physical health and the development of integrated services and support required to tackle this issue, the insurer added.
Dr Katrina Herren, medical director at Bupa Health Funding, said: "This partnership provides an exciting opportunity for us to work with two organisations, which are internationally renowned for their mental health expertise.
"Bupa is committed to seeking the best mental health support for our members and to driving improvements in the quality of care that our members receive. Through our work with the Tavistock & Portman and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trusts we are looking forward to significantly improving and differentiating Bupa's mental health services."
Dr Martin Baggaley, medical director at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust said: "This is an exciting collaboration for us, particularly as our research, as part of King's Health Partners, is yielding growing insight into the interactions between physical and mental health and the need to develop better clinical responses to both."
Bupa has made a series of additional improvements to its mental health services recently, including giving all members access to a dedicated mental health support team and removing the need to see a psychiatrist before accessing therapies, providing improved ease and speed of access.
