Trust announces new strategic community partners

Our innovative community partnership fund was established as part of the Trust’s Making Life Better Together programme which, at its heart, is about working with staff, service users and the wider community to make our Trust a great place to work and an outstanding place in which to receive care.

By working with local communities we will be able to attract local people to come and work at the Trust and can co-produce services to meet the needs of the diverse community across South West London. Our new strategic community partners will play a vital role in engaging with local communities and raising awareness of mental health in communities that need it the most.

Ann Beasley CBE, Chair at SWLSTG NHS Trust, said, “We are delighted to have selected these organisations as our strategic community partners and this is a fantastic opportunity for us to work with our new partners and local communities to raise awareness of mental health across South West London.”

In the Borough of Wandsworth, the Trust selected Roehampton University for their commitment to hosting events focused on wellbeing. Dr Aleata Alstaf-Calkins, Director of Student Services said, “The University will be hosting a range of mental health and wellbeing events for the community throughout the year. We are thrilled to have this opportunity to work alongside SWLSTG to promote mental health awareness and engage the community in such important work.”

The Commonside Community Development Trust will be hosting four events in the Borough of Merton. Director at Commonside, Naomi Martin, said “The Commonside Trust is delighted to be promoting good mental health in partnership with SWLSTG this year!  We are already busy planning our community events, which will be light and fun with plenty of information about who is offering what in the borough and all the tips we can find on staying well and healthy.”

In Richmond, Healthwatch has been selected. Mike Derry, Chief Officer, said, “I'm delighted that Healthwatch Richmond is partnering with SWLSTG to promote awareness of mental health and wellbeing over the coming year. Together we'll be running events and activities with a range of community groups. One of our key aims is to raise awareness of mental health and of how to access services with people who can help share this knowledge."

Community Action Sutton and Sutton Mental Health Foundation are partnering to run events in Sutton. They said, “We are delighted to be working with SWLSTG and we will be supporting and promoting mental health wellbeing events throughout the year. We hope to increase mental health awareness in our local communities in fun and exciting ways.”

Finally, in Kingston the Trust selected Healthwatch Kingston. Stephen Bitti, Chief Officer at HW Kingston welcomed the news saying, “Healthwatch Kingston welcomes this opportunity to work alongside SWLSTG as a strategic partner and looks forward to supporting mental health wellbeing events throughout the year that will help reduce stigma and discrimination. As the Time to Change Kingston Hub Coordinator, we know how important it is to raise mental health awareness meaningfully throughout our diverse communities.”

We will be advertising the events of our new community partners through social media over the coming months. You can keep up to date on all Trust events by following us on Twitter (@SWLSTG) or Facebook (facebook.com/swlstg) or regularly checking our website (www.swlstg.nhs.uk).