Supporting safer, faster and more joined-up mental health care in London.
What is the OneLondon eMHA programme?
Through the OneLondon eMHA programme a new digital tool has been introduced in the Capital to support safer, faster and more joined-up care for people detained under the Mental Health Act (MHA).
The new eMHA by Thalamos system modernises how health and care staff access, record and share information to reduce delays and makes it easier to work together to best meet the needs of patients.
Why is this needed?
The MHA sets out a legal process that protects patients with mental health conditions who need to be detained and treated. This helps ensure they get the right treatment in a safe way.
In most parts of London the process for assessing and treating people under the MHA has relied on different staff from different organisations completing and sharing a number of paper-based forms. This could make the process complex, slow and errors could occur. This could have a negative effect on patients as it can lead to delays in care.
The new eMHA by Thalamos system supports quicker and more joined-up assessment, treatment and discharge of Londoners detained under the MHA.
Where has the new system been introduced?
The eMHA by Thalamos system has been introduced in five Mental Health Trusts in London:
- East London NHS Foundation Trust (ELFT)
- North East London NHS Foundation Trust (NELFT)
- Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust (Oxleas)
- South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM)
- South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust (SWLStG)
The new system was introduced at ELFT in November 2024, NELFT and SWLStG in January 2025 and in Oxleas and SLaM in March 2025.
What are the benefits?
While fully meeting all the MHA legal requirements the new eMHA by Thalamos system supports safer, faster and more joined up mental health care for Londoners. It is also a quicker and more efficient system for staff and their organisations:
- Improves the patient experience: through faster assessment and treatment and more joined up care.
- Saves staff time: reduced time spent by clinical and administrative staff completing and sharing forms.
- Improves safety: helps reduce errors.
- Improves service planning: provides better information to improve services
How does it work?
The OneLondon eMHA programme uses the Thalamos software that was developed with extensive consultation with clinicians and People with Lived Experience, including patients and their relatives.
It works within a Mental Health Trust’s Electronic Patient Record (EPR) system or as a separate standalone system. Wider partners will log into the system via their web browser.
Staff complete MHA documents from within their existing EPR system or the standalone system and can add their electronic signature. Corrections are easier than on the old paper forms and the system automatically highlights sections that have not been completed or where errors might have been made.
Documents are securely shared between relevant organisations avoiding lost or inaccessible forms. Electronic notifications alert teams or individual members of staff of action they need to take helping to reduce delays in the process.
Health and care staff will also be able to see relevant MHA documents via the London Care Record regardless of which Trust created them, supporting more joined up care for people wherever they are in the Capital.
How your information is kept safe
By law, everyone working in, or on behalf of health and social care organisations, must respect patient privacy and keep your information safe. Our systems use a secure and encrypted system that meet NHS and social care security standards.
Only health and care staff involved in your care are allowed to view your records and an audit trail of everyone who accessed records using OneLondon tools is kept. Only approved organisations and/or approved researchers will be able to access the London Secure Data Environment.
Deciding not to share your information
You have a right to determine how your health and care information is used. You can object to your information being shared for direct care and to opt out of your data being used for planning and research purposes.
More information about how your health and care information is used, as well as how to exercise your right to object or opt out is available here.