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Non-therapeutic outpatient clinic

Story from nhs.uk

"Non-therapeutic outpatient clinic"

This community mental health team is comprised of many health professionals, who work as teams. There are some exceptional staff, however more often than not their efforts are not supported by government funding and some of the internal teams who don't function well. Moral seems to be low, generally.

The work is centred around monitoring patient's medication and appointments are short. There is no counselling available, as part of the treatment on offer. There is high incidence of re-admission to the connected in-patient wards, which suggests current practice does not adequately promote longterm recovery.

The environment is clinical with no area for service users to socialise or obtain refreshments. Those who smoke are asked to leave the grounds of the hospital and stand outside on the street.

Anecdotal evidence suggests this is not an effective therapeutic environment for patients with a variety of mental health needs.

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Responses

Response from Engagement and Experience Co-ordinator, South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust 5 years ago
South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust

Submitted on 24/07/2018 at 10:01
Published on Care Opinion at 12:31

Dear Anonymous

My name is Farai and I am the Engagement & Experience Co-ordinator for the Trust.

Thank you for your feedback about the staff, care and treatment of service users and the general environment. You raise some concerns which we would like to take further or at least pass onto the relevant team manager so we can find ways to improve both patient and staff experience in this team. However, you have not specified which community mental health team at Richmond Royal Hospital as there are several on that site. If you could please either call the PALS advice line on 020 3513 6150 or send an email to complaints@swlstg.nhs.uk to help us identify the specific team.

With regards to the smoking issue you raised, the Trust became completely smoke free in October 2017. This was in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance which recommends that all hospital sites, including mental health hospitals, should be 100 per cent smokefree. Unfortunately, this means that smoking will not be allowed in any Trust premises or grounds, including outside the wards and hostels e.g. enclosed garden areas and designated smoking areas will be removed from any area inside its hospitals. Patients and service users will have to go outside the Trust if they want to smoke. Further information about the smoke free campaign at this Trust can be found: www.swlstg.nhs.uk/patients-carers/keeping-well/smokefree.

Once again thank you for your comments and I look forward to hearing from you.

Kind regards

Farai

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