A new digital tool to support safer, quicker and more joined-up care for people detained under the Mental Health Act (MHA) has been introduced in two more Mental Health Trusts in London (29 January 2025).
North East London NHS Foundation Trust (NELFT) and South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust (SWLStG) have now introduced the new eMHA by Thalamos system.
This will modernise how their staff, local authority staff and Section 12 doctors record and share information, reduce delays and make it easier to work together with other health and care professionals to best meet the needs of patients.
The current process for assessing and treating people detained under the MHA largely relies on staff completing and sharing paper-based forms. This can make the process slow and can delay the assessment and treatment of patients.
The new eMHA by Thalamos system will enable relevant staff to access patient information and securely complete MHA statutory forms as well as digitally share them with all relevant staff within their Trust and partner organisations. This will support them to provide the right joined-up care safely and more quickly, while also saving them valuable time.
The OneLondon eMHA programme is using software from healthcare technology business Thalamos that was developed in consultation with patients, carer groups and clinicians.
NELFT and SWLStG join East London NHS Foundation Trust (ELFT) in using the new system. ELFT launched eMHA by Thalamos in November last year and the platform is helping their staff to deliver high-quality care and support joined-up working with their partners.
This major OneLondon programme is supported with NHS England funding. It will see six Mental Health Trusts in the Capital introduce the eMHA by Thalamos system over the coming months supporting safer, faster and more joined up mental health care for Londoners.
Dr Paul Gilluley, Chief Medical Officer at North East London ICB and OneLondon eMHA Programme SRO, said:
“It is great news that staff at NELFT and SWLSTG and their partner organisations have now joined ELFT in using the new eMHA by Thalamos tool. I am delighted that this is already helping ELFT staff to deliver high-quality care and supporting joined-up working with partners. I look forward to seeing the same benefits realised at these other Trusts over the coming weeks and months. Ultimately this is about ensuring many more Londoners benefit from the joined-up care the new system supports.”
Dr Samir Shah, Chief Clinical Information Officer at NELFT, said:
“NELFT are excited to be working with OneLondon, our neighbouring trusts and other local partners as well as Thalamos to deploy the new digital system. We are confident that eMHA by Thalamos will support high quality joined-up care throughout the region and we look forward to seeing these benefits realised over the weeks ahead.”
Dr Sean Whyte, Consultant Psychiatrist, Acting Chief Medical Officer and eMHA Project SRO at SWLStG, said:
“Here at SWLStG we have a strong track record of implementing some of the latest technologies to assist our staff to provide effective, high-quality patient care. That’s why we are part of the OneLondon eMHA programme that will help join up emergency mental health care across the capital for the benefit of patients. I am grateful to everyone involved in helping us launch the new eMHA by Thalamos system for Mental Health Act work here at the Trust. We look forward to hearing from service users, families and staff about their experiences of the new software and its impact on our care.”
Zoe Seager, Client Director at Thalamos, said:
“We’re really excited to welcome NELFT and SWLStG. The OneLondon eMHA programme was ambitious in its intentions and, now that three of six Trusts are using Thalamos, we will really start to see what more joined-up care looks like and access the data needed to direct system improvements.”
The eMHA by Thalamos system is being introduced in six of the Capital’s Mental Health Trusts between November 2024 through to March 2025:
- East London NHS Foundation Trust
- North East London NHS Foundation Trust
- North London NHS Foundation Trust
- Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust
- South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust
- South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust
Find out more information about the OneLondon eMHA programme here.