Hassan, carer
My name is Hassan. I’m 18 and I help care for my mum, who has depression and anxiety. She doesn’t speak English, so I often speak to her mental health team on her behalf. Once, when her symptoms got worse, I called for help and tried to explain how she wasn’t sleeping, was crying constantly, and wasn’t eating. But the response I got felt dismissive – they said people from our background often don’t talk about mental health and that she might just be worrying too much. I felt like they weren’t really listening. I’m not trained to describe complex symptoms, but I do my best. It’s a lot of pressure.
If the system recognised me as her carer and flagged her language needs, maybe she would’ve been offered an interpreter and maybe they would’ve taken it more seriously. What I value about LUCI is that it could help by flagging when carer or language information is missing from a patient’s record and prompt the mental health team to ask. LUCI can also search through clinical notes to find this kind of information, even when it hasn’t been filled in on standard forms. That means important details don’t get overlooked just because they weren’t recorded in the usual place.
David, service user
I was diagnosed with ADHD in 2025 after a long and difficult journey. I had suspected it for years due to ongoing issues with attention, impulsivity, and patterns noted in school reports. In 2021, I received an educational diagnosis at university and tried to get a medical one through my GP. However, delays due to long waiting lists, relocating, and changes in GP practices, along with some dismissive responses from clinicians, meant the process took four years. During that time, my mental health suffered, and I began therapy to manage the stress and uncertainty. Getting support without a formal diagnosis was really hard.
That’s why I think LUCI has real potential. It can pick up on phrases in clinical notes, like someone saying they think they have ADHD or that they’re waiting for an assessment. Natural Language Processing is already being developed to detect these mentions for research purposes. This means LUCI could help flag individuals who may need support, even if they haven’t yet received a formal diagnosis.
Monique, carer
I have tried numerous times to advocate for my grandma to receive talking therapy for her dementia, but doctors continue to recommend medication instead. I also requested pain relief to help with her arthritis at night, but she was prescribed a medication that, to my understanding, didn’t seem in line with standard practice.
At SLaM, healthcare professionals are already using LUCI’s dementia dashboard to track antipsychotic use in patients with dementia and reduce over-prescribing and polypharmacy. Future developments in LUCI could also prompt clinicians when medication reviews are due, in line with NICE guidelines. This would help ensure that prescriptions remain appropriate over time and that non-medication options, like talking therapies or pain management strategies, are not overlooked. By making it easier to track medication use, identify risks, and highlight when action is needed, LUCI could support more holistic and person-centred care for people with dementia.
Phuong, service user
One of the most frustrating parts of getting help for my mental health has been having to repeat the same information at every appointment. I’ve felt pressured to go back on antidepressants, even though I’ve had negative side effects and find it hard to take them consistently. I’ve talked about this many times with my GP but those conversations often don’t make it into my record at SLaM. Without a clear view of my medication history or what’s already been discussed, appointments end up repeating the same ground, leaving little time to talk about what I actually need help with.
LUCI could make a big difference by giving clinicians quick access to my medication history within SLaM and pulling up notes from previous appointments. That way, I wouldn’t have to keep starting from the beginning every time. It could also help clinicians see patterns over time, such as negative side effects with certain medications, and use that information to tailor care more effectively. By making key information easier to find, LUCI could help make every appointment more focused, productive, and person-centred.
A.T, carer
In my community, as in many South Asian, Turkish, Somali, and Eastern European families, caring for loved ones is part of everyday life. I never saw myself as a carer. I was just helping my in-laws – translating at appointments, managing medication, filling out forms, cooking meals. It was what any daughter-in-law would do. Because I didn’t call myself a carer, no one else did either. My role was never recorded, I wasn’t included in care planning, and no one told me what support existed. Over time, the tasks grew more demanding. It became overwhelming. Only later did I realise I had been doing vital care work all along, but no one had acknowledged it, not even me.
LUCI can help by identifying people who have no recorded carer and prompting staff to ask more thoughtful questions. Instead of “Do you have a carer?” asking “Is there someone who helps you at home?” might have helped me see my role more clearly. That small change could have made a big difference – not just by improving care planning for the person receiving care, but by acknowledging and supporting the unpaid carers who are often hidden in plain sight.
Jayesh, service user
A few years ago, I got diagnosed with auditory hallucinations which was shock in itself, as my experiences of hearing voices was so real, and still is today. I resisted taking medication at first because I knew it could increase my risk of things like diabetes or heart problems, and it’s not always easy to stay on top of things like diet and exercise when you’re also managing your mental health. However, after a few months, I started taking antipsychotics and it had an amazing effect, reducing my voice hearing by 90%.
What’s helpful about LUCI is that it can help keep track of my physical health alongside my mental health. It monitors things like my blood pressure, weight, and blood sugar levels over time, and if something’s not right, it flags it. That way, I can get support – like being signposted to a dietician or receiving help with exercise – before things get worse. I would be keen for my doctor to use LUCI when we talk about my medication because it would make me feel like decisions about my treatment are based on the bigger picture, not just one part of my health.
