Recite Me

Need a translation? Visit health information in other languages. If you need urgent help, call NHS 111 - tell them you need a translator.

Need help finding us? Click here

  • If you need help with your mental health today, we’re here for you

    If you need urgent support today out of hours, you can visit an NHS Recovery Café in Tooting or Wimbledon. If you are anxious, low or stressed, NHS Talking Therapies offers a range of free confidential support.

    Find out more

  • workforus2022

    Join our Trust

    We believe that good staff and good patient experience go hand in hand and the people who work with us are at the very heart of delivering an excellent service to our patients.

    Find out more

  • Better Care: New animation highlights transformed support and access across adult community mental health services 

    As a leading mental health Trust, we have to adapt to make sure we continue to provide high-quality care to communities across South West London. 

    Find out more

library services

Data Privacy Impact Assessment

The Trust undertakes Data Privacy Impact Assessments (DPIAs) to comply with the requirement to ensure “Privacy By Design” when developing new systems or services or substantially amending existing ones. 

This means that we consider any potential data protection / information security issues at the beginning of the project and not towards the end.  This is a requirement in law since the introduction GDPR / Data Protection Act 2028.

We will publish here quarterly summary reports of DPIAs that have been completed during the time period.

2019/20

 hp postgraduate medical education

Training for Doctors

We are a lead provider of training programmes in core psychiatry training and higher specialty training in general adult and old age psychiatry.

We are a local education provider for core psychiatry training, higher speciality training including general adult and old age dual training, forensic psychiatry, child and adolescent psychiatry and the psychiatry of learning disability and medical psychotherapy. In addition, the Trust hosts GP and foundation training posts on the South West London training programmes.

Undergraduate medical education

Undergraduate medical students are based at St George's University of London, with over 250 per year being taught by our staff. Most Trust services host medical student attachments.

Postgraduate medical education

We have over 100 postgraduate doctors in training, including foundation trainees, trainees in general practice (GP), and core and higher specialty trainees in psychiatry. Most services employ at least one trainee. Each trainee has an educational and clinical supervisor. As well as regular meetings with their educational supervisor, each trainee has a weekly hourly meeting with their clinical supervisor. In addition, trainees receive training in the workplace and attend the local educational programmes.

Benefits of training with us

These are some of the benefits of training with us, as identified by our trainees:
  • Clinical experience in a variety of services at a range of sites
  • Experience of a wide range of specialties
  • Experience of different cultures and the impact of this on mental health
  • A variety of on-call experience - in the local community and Emergency Departments, and
  • on the psychiatry inpatient wards
  • A specially tailored induction programme
  • The weekly Academic Programmes
  • The MRCPsych Course for core psychiatry trainees
  • Psychotherapy experience, including a weekly supervision group
  • Trainee social events
  • A mentorship programme for core psychiatry trainees
  • Trainee representation on various Trust committees

Educational facilities

Postgraduate Centres

There are two main Postgraduate Centres within the Trust based at Springfield and Tolworth Hospitals. Each Centre has postgraduate staff who organise the academic programmes and support the local trainees.

Library facilities

Library services are provided for all staff to support evidence-based clinical care, education and training, and service development. All Trust staff are automatically members of the libraries. All our library services are provided at a distance by email, phone and post, as well as in the two main Trust libraries at Springfield and Tolworth Hospitals. In addition, staff can access the library at St George's University of London. All the main journals to which we subscribe are available electronically from Trust computers at all Trust sites.

Physical Health Skills Lab

The Physical Health Skills team provides a comprehensive range of training courses in physical health care within the Physical Health Skills Lab, including key mandatory courses for all staff. The aim of the team is to create a centre of excellence in physical skills training for staff. The Lab also has audio-visual equipment for filming that can be used for educational purposes.

Training courses

All trainees will have a dedicated postgraduate training programme for their specialty. In addition, we run two multidisciplinary academic programmes which are open to all Trust staff and some specialties also run-specialty specific academic programmes. Trainees can apply for study leave and funding to revise for postgraduate exams and to attend external training.

Simulation training

Simulation training is led by an experienced consultant and supervisor. All trainees undertake simulation training in a number of areas, including risk assessment and the management of medical emergencies. Trainees also have the opportunity to take part in simulation-based projects, such as the production of training videos, and to act as trainers for other staff.

Teaching opportunities

All trainees in the Trust have the opportunity to take part in teaching and training of other staff and students. In particular, the Trust has close links with St George's University of London and over 250 medical students spend time training in the Trust every year. We encourage our trainees to undertake training in teaching and presentation skills, which is available locally. We also ensure that all our higher specialty trainees undertake the training required to become an educational supervisor, as soon as they take up their first consultant post.

Management and leadership training

We encourage all trainees to develop their management and leadership skills throughout their training. There are opportunities to undertake specific training and to participate in service improvement projects and audits within the Trust.

Research opportunities

We encourage trainees to gain research skills and experience. This can include participation in research projects, writing up projects for publication and poster presentations, and increasing skills in critical appraisal. Experienced clinical academics can support trainees in undertaking research and we have many examples of successful research publications and presentations by trainees in the Trust.

Trainee representation

We encourage trainee representation and involvement throughout the Trust. In particular, trainees are members of the Trust Medical Staff Committees and the Postgraduate Medical Education Committee. We also run a regular Trust-wide Trainees Forum to allow issues of interest to trainees to be discussed with Trust senior management.

Support for trainees

All trainees have access to support services both within and outside the Trust, including the Trust Staff Support Service and the London-wide Professional Support Unit

 

 carers and confidentiality

Mental Health Matters 

Welcome to Mental Health Matters, where, on a monthly basis, our senior clinicians provide expert insight into our work here at South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust and all aspects of mental health.


July 2018 - Recognising and supporting the contribution of our LGBTQ+ community

As it is Pride month from 9 June to 7 July, our July Mental Health Matters article is from our Equality and Diversity Manager, Jennifer Duncan who tells us what the Trust support the LGBTQ + community and why its important that we all take pride – both in ourselves and in supporting each other.

JDMy role involves supporting all of our staff networks across the trust so they can play a key role in how we support staff across the Trust. Supporting LGBTQ + staff and service users is a key part of this work.

Although Pride for many people is day of celebration and joy, the first Pride was, in fact, a series of riots in June 1969 against the police who raided a gay bar called The Stonewall Inn in New York. They are widely considered to constitute the single most important event leading to the gay liberation movement and the modern fight for LGBTQ + rights.

Although the community has come a long way since then, there is still so much that remains to be done. Pride, for me, is a reminder that although we can and should be proud of our sexuality and gender identity. I believe that all Trust staff must do their bit to help create an environment where everyone is free to be themselves in the workplace, without fear, reprisal or judgement.

Pride month is an opportunity to celebrate the visibility and diversity of the LGBTQ + community, to stand up against hate, and campaign for true equality. You can read more about the London events taking place on the weekend of the 7th and 8th July, here.

The Trust is committed to valuing and celebrating the diversity of its patients and staff, aiming for accessible services, good experience and better health outcomes in line with Trust values.

So, what help and support is available for staff?

  • Our LGBTQ + Staff Network held its Pride event on 27 June, where network members were on hand to welcome new members and explain the help and support they provide. To contact the Network, please email: Hannah.Spreadbury-Troy@swlstg.nhs.uk
  • We are a member of Stonewall's Diversity Champion programme which has given us a framework to create a workplace that enables LGBTQ + staff to reach their full potential. We share the ethos of the programme - that people perform better when they can be themselves.
  • All our employees can access our Employee Assistance Programme or Guardian Services in total confidence if they need support and advice.
  • All of our staff will receive harassment and bullying training so we can create an environment where all staff are treated with dignity and respect.

I believe there’s still a lot of work to be done until all lesbian, gay, bi and trans people are accepted without exception, but I’m glad that we, as a Trust, are taking strides to address this. 

Read previous articles below

June 2018 - Carers Week: Recognising and supporting the contribution of carers

As it is carers week from 11 to 17 June, our first Mental Health Matters article is from Helen Miles, Head of Therapies here at the Trust. Here, Helen tells us what the Trust is doing to support carers.

Did you know that one in eight people in the UK is a carer?

That’s a lot of people and for me it’s vital we recognise their contribution and to ensure they’re well supported in their role.

Over the course of the year, I’ve taken a lead role on a number of projects related to carers. It’s my job to make sure all Trust staff value the role of carers and support them as much as possible.

What I will say is that my respect and gratitude to this sometimes undervalued group of people has grown. I’ve recently experienced being a carer for a close family member and I can appreciate the hard work, stress and level of self-sacrifice they go through.

Carers Week, taking place from Monday 11 to Sunday 17 June, allows us to throw a spotlight on carers and explain what we, as Trust, are doing to support them. An important part of my role is to work with clinicians so they are constantly talking to and listening to carers and involving them in patient care – that for me is critical. At the same time, we also need to build communities which support carers to look after their loved ones well, whilst recognising that they too are individuals - with health and wellbeing needs of their own.

At our Trust, we’re lucky that we have a plan that demonstrates our commitment to carers and this commitment comes from the very top – from the Chief Executive.

So what are we doing to ensure that the views of carers are heard? One of the ways we do this is to use embed Triangle of Care standards across the Trust, which allow us to:

  • improve service delivery
  • highlight good practice
  • ensure consistency of carer involvement across an organisation
  • build partnership working between statutory and third sector organisations
  • build a carer inclusive/whole family/network approach to care.
  • These standards are a response to the wishes of carers themselves, who want to be consulted more closely and valued as active partners within the care team. (See our Carers Charter).
You can read more about the Triangle of Care here.

We’re also working closely with each of the local boroughs we serve - Richmond, Wandsworth, Merton, Sutton and Kingston – to ensure that carers are well signposted to all the relevant resources out there to support them, so when they need advice and help, it is easy to find.

One of the objectives in our Service User and Carer Involvement Plan (co-produced with carers) is to ensure at least 50 clinical job interviews in the Trust have a carer sitting as an equal partner on the interview panel.

Recently, a carer told me how, after one of our staff had directed her to her local borough carers centre, she was able to carry on having her husband live at home with her after she had reached a crisis point. She commented that she found the support and understanding she received there overwhelming – for me, this goes to show how a simple conversation can make a life changing difference.

Follow the link to see the resources we provide to carers.

We’re always keen to work with more carers and if you are interested in helping us improve and develop services then please sign up to our involvement register by emailing: Involvement@swlstg.nhs.uk

 

Latest News

Read more

Ways to Contact Us