Driving Digital Transformation: CSG Conference 2025 Highlights

On 27 June 2025, we hosted our annual Conference at the Royal College of Nursing, bringing together senior leaders, clinicians, digital innovators from across London’s mental health sector. Themed “From Analogue to Digital: What Does This Mean for Mental Health Trusts?”, the event marked a pivotal moment in the capital’s journey toward a digitally enabled mental health system.

Chaired by David Bradley, CEO of South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and Chair of CSG, the conference opened with a compelling call to action: to harness the power of digital innovation to meet the growing and complex mental health needs of London’s 9.8 million residents.

Keynote speakers included Dr Michael Holland (CEO, Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust), Hassan Chaudhury (UK digital health expert), and Tom Kibasi (Director of Strategy, NHS England). Together, they outlined the urgent need for transformation, citing rising demand, digital exclusion, and the opportunity to deliver once-for-London solutions.

Highlights from the day included:

A showcase of pioneering work in AI, automation, and virtual reality across London’s mental health trusts.
The unveiling of the “Mental Health Online” vision—a single digital front door for mental health services via the NHS App.
Updates on the OneLondon e-Mental Health Act (eMHA) programme, already used over 38,000 times since launch.
Case studies demonstrating how digital tools like LUCI and SmartNotes are improving care quality, reducing admin burden, and empowering clinicians.
Workshops and panel discussions explored how to embed user-centred design, improve data quality, and scale innovation across the capital. The conference also reinforced the three strategic shifts underpinning London’s transformation: from sickness to prevention, hospital to community, and analogue to digital.

David Bradley, CSG Chair, said:

This was a fantastic conference. It showed that digital transformation is no longer a future ambition—it’s a present necessity. We know that by working together across London, we can use technology to create a mental health system that’s more inclusive, responsive, and fit for the future.

Michael Holland, CEO, Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust said:

The conference was a real success. It was encouraging to see people participating throughout the day. It felt like we took people on a journey, and left them feeling more informed, connected, and inspired to collaborate on digital transformation in mental health. Digital transformation isn’t just about technology—it’s about people. It’s about designing systems that work for clinicians, for patients, and for the communities we serve. This conference showed what is possible when we lead with purpose and collaborate across boundaries.

You can now watch the videos from the conference to catch up on the sessions