Stakeholder Bulletin

March 2024

Welcome to South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust

A message from our Chief Executive

Spring is just around the corner in South West London and already so much positive change has happened since we last wrote to you.

Our relaunched Better Communities programme goes from strength to strength. The brand-new Shaftesbury building has now opened to patients and service users, marking the completion of Springfield Hospital’s £150m transformation.

Elsewhere, we continue our work deliver better care through our transformed community mental health services and better environments, with works now beginning to redevelop Barnes Hospital and works due to get underway at Tolworth Hospital this summer, pending final funding and approvals.

Through all of this work, our amazing staff are at the heart of everything we do. It has been a pleasure to celebrate those who have worked with us for over 25 years at our recent Long Service Awards, as well as celebrating staff patients and carers across our Trust at our annual staff Quality Awards last month. Thank you to everyone who nominated colleagues for our People’s Choice awards.

Please remember, whether you’re struggling with your mental health and need support from our Talking Therapies services or need urgent help and crisis care, our services are here for you.

From innovations to deliver better care for our patients, to tackling health inequalities, breaking mental health stigma and working to become an anti-racist organisation, we remain committed to our Trust mission ‘Making Life Better Together’ and delivering for our communities in 2024.

Best wishes,

Vanessa Ford
Chief Executive

Get involved

Challenges for charity

If you are keen to do an active challenge this year and raise funds for our charity these exhilarating events are guaranteed to get your adrenaline pumping.

Register for Mental Health First Aid training

Looking to improve your mental health knowledge and skills? Free mental health first aid training is available this year! Register your interest for further courses to be announced in the spring.

New Trust webite launches

Our new-look Trust website has launced with a focus on accessibility, making it as simple as possible to find the information you are looking for.

Sarah's story: 'Nobody recognises if this is a mental health emergency'

Trust volunteer Sarah tells her story and shares her experience of undertaking mental health first aid training.

Quality Awards 2023 – Meet your winners!

Last month staff, service users, and carers from across our Trust came together for our annual Quality Awards, an event which celebrates the fantastic work our teams do on a daily basis.

Trust receives Veteran Aware Accreditation

We are delighted to have obtained our Veteran Aware Accreditation recognising our commitment to employing and caring for veterans, reservists, members of the armed forces and their families.

Celebrating LGBTQIA+ History Month

Last month we caught up with the chairs of our LGBTQIA+ staff network, Dan and Cassidy to talk about the importance of celebrating LGBTQIA+ History Month.

Works to get underway to redevelop Barnes Hospital

Following local consultations in Richmond, a new healthcare facility and a special educational needs (SEN) school called the London River Academy, will now breathe new life into our Barnes site.

Kingston Talking Therapies to join South West London and St George’s

We are delighted to announce that Kingston Talking Therapies will be transferring to the Trust in April 2024.

New Shaftesbury building completes Springfield Hospital transformation

The multimillion-pound transformation of Springfield University Hospital concluded at the end of 2023 with the opening of the new Shaftesbury building.

Community careers event a success

130 people joined us in Febuary to explore joining our brilliant teams as healthcare assistants, recovery support workers, and administrators.

NHS and local authority leaders pledge to tackle health inequalities

NHS leaders, local politicians and community groups came together in November to commit to addressing the biggest challenges impacting the mental health of our communities as part of the South London Listens Programme.

Sign-up to take part in our mental health conference

Later in 2024 the Trust will be looking to hold a public mental health conference. Ahead of this we are inviting our community to register interest in taking part, with further information to follow.