Patient experience 

We aim to provide great care to every patient and support to their carers, friends and families.

By putting patient experience at the heart of everything we do we can ensure that we are providing the very best quality services, advice, information and support to those people who need it, when they need it.

Patient Quality Forum

The Patient Quality Forum (PQF) was launched in December 2015 to provide us with a cross-section of views about quality and the experience of our services from the people who use them.

Members of the PQF live in the five boroughs we cover and meet monthly to consider quality and patient experience. They consider the same reports on quality used in our internal governance, receive reports in person from various teams, and provide feedback on recent and current issues affecting patients.

Feedback

We highly value feedback from people who use our services and recognise that they are the true experts on how those services should be developed and delivered. Your views and experiences help us to improve services for everyone. Your feedback will help us understand what we do well and what we can do better.

We are keen to hear your views, good or bad and there are a number of ways that you can do this:

• Feedback Live! Is a survey that you can you complete about any of our services and send us text comments.  The questions on the survey have been co-produced with service users, carers and staff and is a live system.  Please be assured that all your feedback is anonymous.  You can either use this link Feedback Live (swlstg.nhs.uk) or scan this QR Code on your mobile phone or device:

• Call our PALS line on 0203 513 6150 (9am -5pm Monday to Friday) and we will be pleased to take your feedback verbally or resolve your concern.
• Go online to Care Opinion or NHS Choices which are pubic sites where your feedback is visible to others. Whilst we do respond publicly to you on the site, we will not be able to discuss any clinical issues in public so if you have specific concerns we would advise you contact PALS where we can speak you confidentially.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Information for carers, friends and families

A carer is someone who looks after a partner, friend or relative whether or not they live in the same place.

Supporting someone with a mental health problem can be rewarding, but it can also be difficult and sometimes lonely. Having good information at the right time and knowing where to get help and support can make all the difference.

A carer is someone who gives practical or emotional support. Not everyone thinks of themselves as a carer but they may well be and may be able to get financial or practical help.

We are committed to informing, involving and supporting carers, family members and friends as partners in the care of people using our services. We are Gold Star members of the Carers’ Trust’s ‘Triangle of Care’ membership scheme that promotes shared working between carers, professionals and people using services.

The Carers Friends and Families Reference group (CFFRG)

This long-standing group meets bi-monthly to consider quality and patient and carer experience. Individual members of the CFFRG live in the five boroughs we cover and has representation from organisations that support carers within the Boroughs including the five Carers Centres. They consider the same reports on quality used in our internal governance, receive reports in person from various teams, and provide feedback on recent and current issues affecting people who have contact with our services. To find out more about how to become involved please contact involvement@swlstg.nhs.uk

Support in a crisis

24/7 Mental health crisis line

If you need mental health support in a crisis you can call our 24/7 Mental Health Crisis Line on 0800 028 8000.  The Mental Health Crisis Line offers emotional support and advice to people who are affected by urgent mental health issues, at any time of the day or night. It is open to everyone: both children and adults of all ages, and to people who haven’t previously accessed mental health services.

Please only attend A&E if you have an emergency with your physical health. The Mental Health Crisis Line can help and direct you to the right service for your mental health.

If you are already a patient (adult or young person under the age of 18) at our Trust, between the hours of  9am-5pm Monday to Friday we encourage you to call the mental health team that looks after you. You can find their contact details here. Otherwise, please contact the 24/7 Mental Health Crisis Line.

If you are calling urgently from a partner agency and require support and direction, you are encouraged to also contact the 24/7 Mental Health Crisis Line.

If you need more general advice and support with your mental health, please see our Advice and support page.

If you are Deaf, you can call our Mental Health Support Line using Sign Live Video Relay Service (VRS): :

• On a computer, go to https://signlive.co.uk/login/ and register using Facebook, Google or email
• On phone, iPad or tablet download SignLive’s app for free and register

You will then be able to call the Trust for free.

Carers' Charter

We recognise that carers have a very important role in supporting the lives of those who use our services whatever their age.  Carers have a unique and valued perspective that we want to support with commitments from our staff in using the 3iS approach.

3iS is an approach that was created by our carers in workshops and this now forms the basis of our Carers Charter which has also been developed in consultation with the Trust's Carers, Friends and Family reference group.

It sets out four key commitments from to carers. To:

• Identify
• Inform
• Involve, and
• Support

You can read more about the Carers' Charter in this leaflet

Recovery for Friends, Families and Partners

Friends, families and partners of people living with mental health difficulties go through their own challenges. These four stand-alone sessions offer be a safe space to explore and learn in a group about your needs and strengths and learn skills to make the best of life. All sessions take place at the Recovery college, Springfield Hospital. We recommend that you book a place on all 4 sessions if you can but these are designed  to be individual sessions as well. Find out more here 

Carers newsletter

Winter 2021

pdf Summer 2021 (863 KB)

 Spring 2021

Advice and support

There are lots of different kinds of support that we can offer to patients, carers, friends and family.

You can self-refer to our Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) services for people who live in the boroughs of Sutton, Merton and Wandsworth. Our IAPT services help people with anxiety, depression, bulimia, obsessive compulsive disorder, panic disorder and postnatal depression.

We also have experts who can give you advice on a variety of subjects including:

• Advocacy
• Legal advice
• Benefit advice
• Interpreters
• Spiritual care
• The Mental Health Act

We work with the Shaw Trust to provide employment support through the Aim 4 Work Programme.  Aim4 Work is a free specialist employability programme for people with common mental health conditions living in South London, North London and East London. You can find out more about Aim 4 Work here.

We also have a Patient Advice and Liaison (PALS) team who can help you with any queries or concerns you have about our services.

Getting help in a crisis

24/7 Mental health crisis line

If you need mental health support in a crisis you can call our 24/7 Mental Health Crisis Line on 0800 028 8000.  The Mental Health Crisis Line offers emotional support and advice to people who are affected by urgent mental health issues, at any time of the day or night. It is open to everyone: both children and adults of all ages, and to people who haven’t previously accessed mental health services.

Please only attend A&E if you have an emergency with your physical health. The Mental Health Crisis Line can help and direct you to the right service for your mental health.

If you are already a patient (adult or young person under the age of 18) at our Trust, between the hours of  9am-5pm Monday to Friday we encourage you to call the mental health team that looks after you.  You can find their contact details here.  Otherwise, please contact the 24/7 Mental Health Crisis Line.

If you are calling urgently from a partner agency and require support and direction, you are encouraged to also contact the 24/7 Mental Health Crisis Line.

If you need more general advice and support with your mental health, please see our Advice and support page.

If you are Deaf, you can call our Mental Health Crisis Line using Sign Live Video Relay Service (VRS): :

• On a computer, go to https://signlive.co.uk/login/ and register using Facebook, Google or email
• On phone, iPad or tablet download SignLive’s app for free and register

You will then be able to call the Trust for free.

SLP CAMHS Crisis Line 

If you are a child or young person, or a parent/carer concerned about a young person’s mental health, you can contact the SLP CAMHS Crisis Line on 0203 228 5980, Monday to Friday 5pm – 11pm, and Saturday, Sunday, and BHs 9am – 11pm.

Information on support for young people following trauma can be found here. 

Recovery Cafés

Our Recovery cafes are based in Tooting, Richmond, Kingston and Wimbledon but are there to help adults (18 years+) with mental health issues from the South London boroughs of Wandsworth, Merton, Sutton, Richmond and Kingston. You don't need to book or have a formal referral. You just need to turn up. You can also ring ahead if you need any support around travelling to the café or would like to speak with a member of staff beforehand.

Opening Hours:  Monday to Friday 6pm - 11pm, Saturday Sunday and Bank holidays 12noon - 11pm

The Cafés will close at 11:00pm promptly each night and customers will be supported to plan their journey home during their visit to the Cafés.

Please note: The cafés do not provide accommodation and are not designed to support young people under 18 years old or those under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Tooting Recovery Cafe

966 Garratt Lane, London SW17 0ND. Email: recovery.cafe@hestia.org or call 07794 394 920

Sunshine Recovery Café

296a Kingston Rd, London SW20 8LX. Email: info@sunshinerecoverycafe.org or call 07908 436 617

Twickenham Recovery Hub

32 Hampton Road, London TW2 5QB. Email: recoveryhub@rbmind.org or call 020 3137 9755

Kingston Recovery Hub

Alfriston Centre, 3 Berrylands Road, London KT5 8RB. Email: recoveryhub@rbmind.org or call 020 3137 9755