A new integration between eMHA by Thalamos and the London Care Record (LCR) is now live, enabling clinicians across London to see a person’s Mental Health Act (MHA) legal status directly within the shared care record for the first time.
The development sits within the wider OneLondon eMHA programme, which brings together five London Mental Health Trusts and more than 40 hospitals across the capital.
The integration allows key MHA information recorded in eMHA by Thalamos to flow automatically into the LCR. When a patient is subject to detention or a Community Treatment Order within a London Programme Mental Health Trust, their current status, the detaining organisation and relevant dates are displayed in three familiar parts of LCR. Detention history is also visible within an automatically generated status summary document.
This ensures that professionals using the LCR, of which there are over 100,000 accessing it more than 2.5m times each month, have access to consistent and up-to-date information without requiring any additional steps from eMHA users.
Frontline and admin impact
For many frontline teams, establishing whether a person is currently detained can require multiple phone calls, liaison with mental health services or cross-checking paper records. By surfacing this information in the LCR, clinicians in settings such as A&E, ambulance services, acute wards, primary care and social care have immediate clarity on a person’s legal status and who is responsible for their care.
Thalamos is also used by the Metropolitan Police and British Transport Police, and the integration supports key parts of the crisis pathway involving police attendance. This could include a scenario where an individual is brought to A&E under Section 136 but has, in fact, absconded from a London Trust using eMHA. Previously this could go unnoticed, resulting in a repeat MHA assessment and an extended period in emergency care. With legal status visible in the LCR, ambulance teams or A&E staff can see instantly if the individual is already detained elsewhere and coordinate a safe return to the correct service rather than beginning the process again.
The visibility also extends beyond the OneLondon eMHA Trusts. Those that are not part of the programme will still be able to see the Mental Health Act status of individuals if they are receiving care elsewhere in London, ensuring a more joined-up picture across organisational and geographical boundaries.
For administrative teams supporting Mental Health Act processes, the integration reduces the volume of incoming status queries from clinicians elsewhere in the system. Legal status now updates centrally and consistently, removing the need to relay information manually. Leadership teams gain assurance that people in their care can be identified accurately across settings, including when presenting to acute environments or urgent care.
Reducing repeat processes
The integration supports a more trauma-informed approach. People who have been detained frequently report being asked to recount their MHA history when accessing care in different settings. With legal status now visible in the LCR, professionals have access to this information without relying on the patient to provide it.
Arden Tomison, CEO of Thalamos, said this is one of the changes he expects to have the greatest immediate impact on patient experience. “It’s very common for someone to be asked for their Mental Health Act history again and again as they move between services,” he added. “Professionals can now see that information in the shared care record and focus on a more person-centred conversation.”
This sentiment is echoed by Dr Peter MacRae, Consultant Psychiatrist at East London NHS Foundation Trust, who said: “Being able to see patients’ MHA Legal Status in the London Care Record will help health professionals find the up-to-date information they need to provide appropriate care, improving communication and enabling more efficient progress of MHA processes when appropriate. This will benefit patients because it supports more joined up, safer and faster care, while also saving frontline staff valuable time.”
A more joined-up pathway
Tomison said the integration is part of Thalamos’ wider aim of improving how organisations across the mental health pathway work together. “We’ve always seen our role as joining up the different parts of the system around the care of a person,” he explained. “Integrating with a shared care record strengthens that. It connects mental health services with acute hospitals, GPs and social care in a way that wasn’t possible before.”
The integration builds on other connectivity work across London, including the deployment earlier this year of the eMHA and Rio EPR integration across four Trusts, improving accuracy and reducing duplication in statutory workflows.
Thalamos has also begun a three-month acute trial at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, providing full eMHA access to identified acute teams. The pilot will help explore how improved digital visibility of statutory documentation and patient history can support operational pressures within an acute environment and strengthen coordination between mental health and emergency care. This follows a recent go-live at Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust and reflects increasing interest from acute hospitals in digitised Mental Health Act pathways
Tomison said the integration also shows what wider digital progress could look like elsewhere. “This is the first time any Mental Health Act software has been connected into a shared care record,” he said. “It demonstrates what’s possible when there is a clear clinical need and organisations commit to working through the detail together.”
The integration is now live across London and will continue to be supported through the OneLondon programme, with no action required from Trusts for activation.
A short guide for health and care staff using the London Care Record sets out more detailed information about the MHA status information that is available, what it means and how to find this in the London Care Record.
