In many ways I grew up at Springfield. I arrived as an 18-year-old student nurse in the late 1990s and it has been part of my life in one way or another ever since. I remember being both impressed and intimidated by the imposing 1840s buildings – I rode my bike down the long downhill corridors. I loved working with our patients and experiencing the cultural differences of our communities.
Even back then it was clear that what were once grand old institutional buildings, were now at odds with the care we aspired to provide –compassionate, respectful and innovative. Spaces were too cramped, too hot, too big or too cold. I always felt like we were hidden away behind big gates, reinforcing the stigma of mental ill-health.
I remember working on what was then Bluebell when it was a 22-bed dormitory mixed acute ward. It had a female only section and a mother and baby unit, all in one. I was the nurse in charge one night shift, when a woman went to the bathroom and two minutes later I heard a baby crying. She had given birth, and we couldn’t open the bathroom door! It opened inwards and the space was too small. Somehow, we got them both out safely!
When I came back to the Trust as Director of Nursing in 2016, our conversation had changed. We were asking ourselves “how do we rebuild, while reducing stigma, keeping the best of our care and
offering the best experience for our teams”. So our journey began, and after many years we are now on the cusp of moving into our new buildings, and the start of changes at Tolworth, Barnes and Richmond Royal. As an 18-year-old, I could never imagine I’d be the Chief Executive signing over the papers of the old Springfield Hospital – a huge responsibility and one we can only enact together.
While our buildings are the most obvious sign of change, we have progressed in many other – more important – ways. From clinical transformation that is offering more effective treatments, earlier and closer to home; digital transformation that offers more choice; agile and flexible ways of working which are improving staff experience; and becoming an inclusive, anti-racist, organisation that strives to reduce inequalities and co-produce with our patients and carers.
I want to thank the members of staff, past and present, who generously shared their stories for our staff Year Book. The stories and experiences of our patients and carers are being collected by our Peer Support Workers and will be shared and learned from too. These are both important opportunities for us to reflect on the best of what we do and take it with us, leaving behind the less positive aspects, as we continue to move mental health forward.
Thank you for everything that you do.
Vanessa Ford, Chief Executive
Many patient stories have moved me throughout the years, but there was one in particular which had a deeper impact on me. I felt I needed to write a poem about them as a way to deal with the impact of their emotional distress. In my 20 years working in mental health, I’ve had an amazing and inspirational view into the emotional complexity and stages of an individual’s journey - from experiencing a chaotic daily existence to achieving a feeling of being whole again with an outlook of better health, hope and happiness!
Andreas Schoyen
Learning sign language and adapting to the deaf culture in our deaf services can be comical. Sometimes, after what I think is a beautiful flow of my hands conveying accurate sign language, I can see the facial expression of the deaf person clearly saying, “What?”
Claudette Lewis
What I Iike about mental health nursing is that it is hopeful, and you can see people get well and move on. In general nursing, you see only part of a patient’s journey. Although there are tragic stories, most people achieve some form of recovery and are able to put their lives back together.
Richard Dalton
I find it incredibly gratifying that so many service users have not only gone on to full employment, but have become mental health professionals, both here and at other trusts. Many say it’s in appreciation for the support they received.
Ian JordanOnce, in the middle of a supermarket, a service user from Jupiter Ward stopped me and said in front of everybody, that: She don’t care if I am white. She don’t care if I am black. She don’t care if I am mixed-race, tall or anything, she treats everybody the same. For me, this was the biggest compliment.
IoannaIn the big old dormitories, there was very little privacy for patients, and the smell of cigarette smoke was everywhere. At night, the snoring and the smells made sleeping difficult. It was so refreshing when we moved to the then new buildings.
Sharon Spain
We used to get to know the long-stay patients, often having a chat with them. They became institutionalised back then. Our service has really changed for people with the focus on recovery.
Trevor WeedenPatients used to be institutionalised. A mix of geriatric and mental health. A lot of people were sectioned for very trivial reasons, sometimes for autism which was not a recognised disability at the time.
Martin NolanMental health care has changed so much for the better. Back then, medication was often heavily used with our patients. But I did enjoy the old smoking rooms where patients would sit chatting and you got so much information!
Sharon Spain
I became “Auntie Maureen” for one of the service users who had an Auntie Maureen in his family. I would say: “I don’t like it when you swear”, and he would say “Oh, I’m sorry, Auntie Maureen”, and would stop swearing. It always amazed me to have such a gentle impact on this person who was struggling.
Maureen BoothBack in 1990, I would work one day a week on the rehabilitation ward which supported up to 30 women. Both shocking and sad, these patients had been there much of their adult lives. Many had been sectioned in the 1930s, 40s and 50s mainly because they had children ‘out of wedlock’. They were very charming but their lives had stood still. One of my duties was to update their drug charts so that they could all have a glass of sherry at 6pm.
Anna Graham
I remember that tragically a member of staff died following an incident on a ward. That had a huge impact on the whole Trust. The small ray of light was how we came together afterwards. Now there is a far better understanding of the challenges that our teams face every day at work.
Anonymous
I once looked after a young man in rehab services who was severely impacted by his illness and his upbringing. His whole view of the world was through a lens of being unwell, having grown up with a family who were also unwell. I saw him a few years ago, and he explained he was now living semi-independently, and even managed to mend some of his family relationships. It was so gratifying to see what he had achieved.
Richard DaltonI remember the Morris Markowe Unit, where the day room was so large it could seat all 160 people simultaneously. The average length of stay was 25 years. The hospital was the only ‘home’ that they had known. Privacy, dignity, respect, individuality were in short supply.
We always tried to resettle people in community-supported accommodation with their friends, but as this was the only ‘home’ that many had known, some were reluctant to leave. We reassured them that they could come back if they did not like their new homes, but no-one did.
It was such a joy to see people enjoying their new, more dignified homes: having their own clothes, being able to choose whether they wanted sugar in their tea, the new freedom they enjoyed, even having the odd drink in the evening! One group of 16 people were resettled in supported flats in a beautiful mansion block in Chelsea that overlooked the river Thames. We evaluated this move and wrote a paper entitled ‘From Long-Stay Patient to Sloane Ranger’!
Rachel PerkinsI came to love working with older people. I loved listening to their life stories – their experience, their resilience, having seen and participated in our history and lived in a different world than we know now. I met a woman who had flown military aircraft in the Second World War. I had never heard that before - while women had not flown in combat, they would fly planes from base to base.
I was in my early twenties when I helped set up a hospital radio station. There were up to 15 volunteers involved in Radio 9, named after the nine hospitals it covered, and it was very professional. Graham Taplin and I used to put on the late show on Friday evenings. We borrowed the name of Capital Radio DJ Nicky Horne’s show Your Mother Wouldn’t Like it and called ours The Matron Wouldn’t Like It, with pop and rock music. During the day the music was lighter. We used to go around the wards to get requests from the patients. Sometimes they would leave a card for us to play a song for their son or daughter or spouse, and we’d play the song with their messages. Peter Smith
My introduction to the Trust was in 1989, as a service user aged 17 years. I was told I would likely not work again, and statistically I was more likely to die by suicide by the age of 45 than get a job. Ten years later, I made it my life’s mission to help people with significant mental health challenges into meaningful employment. When I look back at that 17-year-old me, I never thought that work and mental health would become my life’s purpose and that it would impact people around the world. Imagine what it feels like to have the honour of helping people rebuild their working lives, hopes and dreams. To meet people at their lowest and most devastated points in life, and to help guide them on their path to recovery.
Paul Dorrington
When I joined the junior doctor training scheme at Springfield in 1990, I was living in Islington but my first job was at the Netherne Hospital in Coulsdon, a long way to travel! The hospital Trust at that time had a fleet of ‘Crown Cars’ for staff. I was loaned a red Ford Fiesta to drive to work!
Anna Graham
At the age of 14, I came to Springfield Hospital for work experience. I had a tour of the hospital and remember visiting a department where patients and staff were communicating in sign language. Many years later, I started working for the Deaf Adult Community Team where I am still based today.
Claudette LewisThe shop in the Main Building used to sell baguettes and sandwiches. In the early 2000s you would get all the ingredients in a bag, for example a roll, ham, butter and a little tub of Branston, and you’d make it yourself. A bit later they made the sandwiches and the chicken tikka was always sold out. You’d have to race there at 11.45 to beat the queue for the best sandwich filling.
Joanne SimmonsI was 17 when I started in 1981, the youngest of the porters, and it was my first time to mix with people of different cultures and all the different personalities – Portuguese, Jamaican, Indian and more. It was an eye opener for me. My first job as a porter was assisting the postman Alfred Sunny, from St Lucia, and I walked miles every day delivering post – I didn’t think I would last given the number of miles I covered every day!
Martin NolanIt’s the people I remember. There used to be a very good patient and staff library in the old Daffodil Building. The librarian’s name was Emma. The shop was the centre of the hospital – a lady called June and her daughter ran it. It used to sell cigarettes, chocolates and sandwiches.
Bernadette McManus
I have very fond memories of the Jubilee Day Hospital for elderly people. I would take my guitar and play for them, and learned all the old songs of their generation. Now elderly patients in their eighties love music from the 1960s, like The Beatles. Music is a wonderful way of engaging with older people with dementia. I also played for patients on wards. It was very rewarding, I felt I could make a difference to people’s well-being. I’ll also never forget when we formed a band with service users. We had concerts and even recorded a CD!
We went to the Queen’s Jubilee Platinum Party. NHS workers from all over country were invited. It was cold but there was a lot of entertainment and we enjoyed meeting people from all over. It was Glastonbury without the mud!
Clive and Ray
I got to go to Buckingham Palace (actually inside) where I met the then HRH Prince Charles when I was nominated by the Trust for recognition of services to Mental Health Nursing.
Jayne EvansI’ve been eighteen years with the Trust, and both my parents worked here in the 70s. My mother was a nurse on the Dahlia Ward, and my dad was an ambulance driver. My mother tells me nurses wore a green uniform with a white apron and hat, and they used to carry keys to open and lock up the doors as they passed through. They always had two nurses to give medications as no one was allowed in the patient’s room by themselves. The locked wards were connected by tunnels accessed via the basement, so going down there was always a highlight, especially on night shift!
Melissa Heath
I worked as a Medical Secretary in the Drug Dependency Unit for 15 years. It was definitely not a run-of-the-mill secretarial job. Daily, I was face-to-face with the effect of drug abuse, and saw how it can destroy people’s lives, as well as the domino effect on family and loved ones, who also share their anguish and suffering in their battle - and sadly, sometimes losing that battle.
Professor Ghodse, for whom I worked, knew the devastating effects of substance abuse and was passionate about finding ways to help people. He helped shape policies on addiction and substance misuse all over the world. Ghodse Building 17, where Sycamore Ward was once situated, has been named after him.
Claudette Lewis
In the 1980s I became assistant to Dee, the Cashier. Within the first few weeks, we had an armed robbery. No one was hurt. Luckily the robbery was on a Wednesday. If they’d come a day later they would have got all our wages!
Martin NolanI remember our first CQC visit in 2014 – we were one of the first mental health trusts to have a visit and we received a ‘Good’ rating. People said they felt invigorated – it encouraged them to reflect on what they do and value it more, and everyone pulled together to support the visit. One colleague said he’d never been so proud of the Trust.
Michael Hever
When I came on site for my interview I lost my way. I encountered one of the nurses and a policeman who appeared to be walking in the right direction. They told me to follow them as they thought it was around the next corner, only to find it was a dead end! I found myself being questioned intently by the officer. It occurred to me he probably suspected I was a patient attempting to abscond from the hospital. At that moment I remember thinking “Wow! This job is going to be quite exciting!”
Marilyn EdwardIn 1983, after my A levels, I got a job in Springfield as an Occupational Therapist Helper. It had the vibe of a Victorian asylum which was quite eerie for an 18-year-old, but poignant when I came back 15 years later and it had left behind so much of the ‘institutional’ feel.
David HeasmanI was a switchboard operator – a very stressful job - especially trying to work with what was, at the time, a very historic piece of telecommunication equipment: A PMX switchboard. This is the kind with cords you plugged in and when someone finished a call, the light would go out and you would take the line out. There were hundreds of lines to connect, and the cords were all different colours so you could see what you were connecting. Eventually we could only get one colour replacements so all the cords were the same colour - what a nightmare!
Martin Nolan
Good riddance paper files! I remember some case notes were 18 inches thick! What a nightmarethe clumsy binders, trying to keep everything in order, the missing notes, trying to decipher illegible handwriting. Liberation! Computers and email for one communication to many people at the same time! No more photocopying meeting minutes! The copy-and-paste miracle! Goodbye Tippex and guidance notes on when to use it to correct mistakes! Can you tell I was an enthusiastic embracer of technology? Yes, we have exploding inboxes now, but what a sea change of efficiency compared to before.
David HeasmanEveryone had their own filing cabinets which took up so much space - when you opened a drawer you could smell the card and dust. We used to print agendas and papers for all attendees at meetings. It was the bane of my life!
Theresa PardeyIn 1998 the Exec had a vision – Microsoft Mail and an intranet to share information. At first only the senior managers had PCs and e-mail. As we rolled them out, we soon realised that having one person on the helpdesk wasn’t enough - everyone forgot their passwords – and this is still the most common call.
Dave Dowsett
I remember using the old adding machines. Two people would add the invoice totals and they had to match before they could be put forward for payment. No spreadsheets or complicated systems then, but a lot more staff!
Jackie HarwoodThere was one glitch in the electronic payroll implementation – there were no bank payments! I remember my finance colleagues and I had to go to the bank, withdraw cash for the payroll, and then we went personally to all the banks to pay in everyone’s weekly pay. It took an entire day – and everyone was paid on time!
Dave DowsettNot everyone embraced technology. Some still wanted to use paper and didn’t trust the computer calculations. They would check hundreds of figures – taking way more time than before!
Mike Wheeler
I arrived from Nigeria as a trainee doctor in 1994. I was overwhelmed by the massive brick Victorian building with the fountain and elegant gardens. Where I had come from, mental health hospitals were not grand. This felt like a royal estate to me!
But its grandness was edged with scariness. It was badly lit, and working on-call, I often had to walk the length of the hospital site in the dark, worrying that anything rustling in the undergrowth could be a human or animal attacker! Sometimes I’d walk past John Meyer ward, through Building 14 with its long, dark, winding corridors and blind corners, with the echoes of my footsteps amidst the silence. What a relief when I arrived back at the oncall residence safely and could shut the door behind me!
Peju Raji
Springfield was so unique. You were in the heart of South London but go through the gates and you were in a different world.
Martin NolanIn the 90s, I worked with an administrator who told me that she had grown up in Springfield Village. Her father had been the hospital postman. Back in the early 1900s the hospital was entirely self-sufficient with a bakery, chapel and farm including cows!
Anna GrahamCrash! During the 1989 construction at Barnes Hospital, a huge lump of ice hurtled through the roof of the new admin block, shattering the glass and dislodging tiles. It looked and smelled like frozen water from a chemical loo - dropped by a plane flying overhead. No one was hurt, fortunately!
Kathy SheldonBarnes Day Hospital had a ‘memory room’ for those with Alzheimer’s and dementia. There was a Singer sewing machine, old–fashioned iron and weighing scales, a mincer, a gas mask, an old biscuit tin, Carnation corn plasters, Andrews Liver Salts! These items brought back memories and helped people feel at ease.
Anonymous
There used to be a linen and sewing room for patients wanting curtains or repairs, and a clothes shop. We used to bring patients there to buy their clothes – it was like a small town.
Ray DownerComedian and former psychiatric nurse, Jo Brand, was guest of honour at a World Mental Health Day event at Sutton Hospital which highlighted the way art crosses cultural and language barriers. Jo cut a cake and unveiled artworks commissioned by the Trust to mark the opening of the refurbished reception area in the Chiltern Wing.
Anonymous
As our buildings in Tolworth became vacant, we’ve welcomed some unexpected guests. The Transport Police and Met police have been using the vacant space for dog training and for confined spaces training for their squads. A useful opportunity to improve our working relationships with these police forces!
Darren YoungLegend has it that the cafeteria building’s colours - blue, green and brown - were to represent the sky, earth and soil, but were painted upside downwith the sky on the bottom!
Suresh Desai
There was a plaque on a bench for a porter named Leo. His mum used to come and lay flowers there. Bernadette McManus
There was a classic red telephone box, designed by the architect Giles Gilbert Scott in the 1920s, and a Royal Mail post box dating from the reign of King George VI in the garden of Fox Ward. Both were brought over to Springfield when the ward closed. Anonymous
The main building was so old. Our offices were converted from wards where long stay patients stayed. They weren’t very nice, with a little window high up. Hot in the summer and cold and draughty in the winter. The new Storey building was a huge improvement because it was so new and fresh.
Joanne SimmonsWhen we created Phoenix Ward building and the Wandsworth Recovery Centre, one of the service users participated in all stages of the design. He would give nautical names to key players, including me as Admiral Ram and Gary as Captain Tub. He wrote a poem about going through stormy waters – to highlight that, despite the storm and tempest, we had come through together as friends.
Peter Ramrayka
The case of the missing doors: The ornate Victorian doors of the 1840s building were stolen overnight. The story is that someone came in the night and said they were taking the doors away to clean and repair them, but never came back.
Ray Downer
I complimented an acquaintance on their lovely doorknobs. “Thanks,” she said, “They’re actually from Springfield Asylum!”
Anonymous
I remember there was a woman who would sit at the bottom of the staircase in the main building and sing with her beautiful voice. The high ceiling there made excellent acoustics .
Jane Healey
The old John Meyer Ward was one of the dreariest places I had ever worked. We suffered a high number of absconds from the garden. Where there was a will, there was a way! The new ward in 2009 was a breath of fresh air, with a massive secure courtyard for fresh air and recreation.
Janice MurrayI remember Stan the gardener took great pride in the garden, and patients would join him on work schemes. There was an indoor fountain and garden in the 1840 building. Stan saved the fountain for Ruby Ward, and it’s now in the Shaftesbury garden.
Matthew Willoughby
Do you remember the signs “Beware of flying balls” near the golf course? I used to pick them up every morning and kept a collection on my desk. A colleague would come and take the good ones.
Joanne SimmonsI was new to the Trust working in the nursing governance team. The woman I worked with said that she was sure she could hear water dripping somewhere. We couldn’t see anything and stopped worrying about it. Later that day she stepped out of the office for a moment, as a big part of the celling came crashing down on her desk!
Ian HigginsWe used to work with a nurse who had lived in Harewood House as a trainee nurse, then later on, when it was used as a ward, ended up working in her old home!
Andy CohenThe fountain was the focal point for events like the summer parties that we loved that brought staff, patients and families together.
Melissa HeathOur office on the first floor was very hot so we’d open the window. At first, I noticed my sandwich would be pulled apart or nibbled on. One day I saw the culprit – a squirrel we named Herbie. Before long he became my regular lunch date. In fact, anything in the office was up for grabs for Herbie, and we would all bring in treats for him! He found the kitchen and would knock over the breakfast cereals. If the window was closed, he’d stay on the ledge looking at you. He became part of the family.
Rose Nkrumah-adusei
Do you remember the owls that used to hang out on the roof of Building 15?
Andy Cohen
The Nightingale School, which was our neighbour, had a farm. One day a pig escaped into our site, and our administrator, who lived in a rural area, couldn’t believe she had just come from the country to the big city to chase a pig around!
Andy CohenIn 1909, a chicken run with 20 chickens was introduced to the Barnes site. The hens produced 2,000 eggs in the first year.
Kathy SheldonI walked into a plant room one day in the basement of the main building and confronted a large badger. It won’t surprise you that one of us left very quickly - on two legs!
Paul JonesA number of feral cats took up residence in the basement of the main Springfield building. A Springfield branch of the Cats Protection League was formed to safeguard their welfare. Kittens were found homes with cat-loving staff members and the adult cats were taken to a local vet to be neutered.
Anonymous
We had a pigeon take over our meeting roomeveryone was in quite a flap... I’m sorry. Yes - there was great concern the pigeon had laid an egg.
David MooreWe used to have horses on site – one evening the on-call nurse had a call for help – to deliver a colt!
(The nurse recommended they call a vet.)
Suresh Desai
How could I ever forget the Friday evening parties at the Golf Club with the DJ and dancing. A lot of leaving dos, birthdays or any excuse for a party was held there. Jackie Harwood
I was a cyclist for many years – before it became trendy. Back then there were no showers or changing facilities. I had to improvise and wash using the sink!
Ian HigginsOne of our long-stay patients loved our pantomimes and appeared in several. He had been estranged from his family for years, but his brother heard he was performing and came. Seeing them embrace for the first time in all those years was wonderful.
Josephine BellDoes anyone remember when Moneeb delivered the most amazing monologue at an awards evening in the old canteen? It consisted entirely of song titles and lyrics and was one of the funniest things ever!
Josephine Bell
I used to DJ at the ward Christmas parties, there was a party on every ward.
Ray Downer
I used to accompany Ray to the ward Christmas parties to support him, but really so I could go to a party and get some food and cake.
Clive McDermottIn the summer of 1981, right before the wedding of the then Prince Charles and the then Lady Diana, the television set in the Alexandra Ward broke down, and panic ensued. Fortunately, it was fixed in time by the speedy action of the Friends of Barnes Hospital.
Kathy Sheldon
I remember social groups on the old Daffodil Ward, where older people from the long stay wards would play bingo. It was so long ago that you could win a cigarette as a prize for getting a line of numbers!
Laurie DahlThe Old Bluebell ward used to hold an annual BBQ in their garden, which had beautiful lavender area, over August Bank Holiday Weekend. For several years we had a mini ‘carnival’ as some of our patients would normally have attended the bigger carnival in Notting Hill.
Jayne Evans
Princess Diana visited the deaf unit around 1990. Everything went to plan until one patient jumped out of the crowd and kissed her!
Bryony Cairns
Leonard Cohen and his touring band, The Army, played in the Henderson Tower, Belmont Hospital, formerly a Trust site in Sutton, running through their entire programme for the Isle of Wight festival two days later. About 40 staff and patients attended, and a private recording was made by a member of staff which is now in the Archive and Study Centre.
Anonymous
The Springfield pantos ran from 1995 to 2001 - the brainchild of Rev. Eddie Carden who aimed to break down the barriers between staff and service users – and have fun. Some senior management took part as they were keen to modernise Springfield by opening up this ‘hidden hospital’ to the community.
Eddie directed, acted and wrote scripts, and found an organist as musical director. He was backed up by a number of stalwart employees such as the ever-comical Bernard Cousins, Suresh Desai, and Mandy Toole who performed in all seven pantos. When Eddie left, I took over for the last two.
The scripts were a mixture of traditional panto for the children, inhouse jokes for those in the know, and current political jokes for the adult audience.
Des Muller
The Clinical Exercise Therapy (CET) team runs a south London Football team for service users called The Warriors. They have won the league three times and won the FA People’s Cup 2017, a national competition for people with disabilities, for our category.
The team was invited to watch Arsenal vs Chelsea in the FA Cup final at Wembley stadium. At half-time, the Captain received our biggest trophy in our cabinet and the team received text messages from family and friends around the world who were watching it live!
Binder Mahami
We held a five kilometre run at Springfield - two and a half times around the site when we used to have the golf course. Sixty-six staff and patients ran in the last one. All the patients received medals, and many patients were very proud of them and had a real sense of achievement.
Binder Mahami
Twice a week there used to be exercises and different games and activities on the lawn area outside Building 14. I used to love bringing service users down from my ward. We would play football and all kinds of other games. Initially, most patients would only watch. Soon though, they all were up and ready far ahead of my 9am arrival to take them out to the games.
Ioanna PriftiThe snooker table we had at the Trust was quite old when I came here. I remember we used to have internal snooker competitions. They were very popular with the patients, and community clients would come back to join them years after being discharged.
Suresh Desai
My favourite memory is when I was a junior psychiatrist in the early 2000s and was about to leave the Wandsworth and Merton Older People’s teams. On my last day, I found a surprise party awaiting me in the ward. They had cooked dishes from around the world - I was very touched that they made such an effort.
Meanwhile, the Jubilee Day Hospital kept calling for me to come down to see them too. Filled with all the wonderful food and after saying goodbyes to my colleagues and patients there, I went down to the Jubilee and found ... another surprise party with beautifully prepared food from around the world! They made me feel so special.
Billy BolandI moved from Ireland to train in general nursing at St George’s Hospital. I was always interested in mental health, so worked here at Springfield as a healthcare assistant on the bank. As a student I was always broke, so I took extra evening work in a pub in Tooting. The patients would come to the pub and shout, “Any chance of free pints, Nurse?!”
Sharon SpainSpringfield is so dear to my heart. My best friend and I were student nurses living in the residences together, we both met security guards – who were also best friends, both from Dublin, and both named Paul! My Paul became my husband and we are still together 30 years later.
Amanda CumminsI came to Cottage Day Hospital as a student in my final year before getting my nursing qualification. Working there was an amazing experience - I found that Mental Health Nursing allows you to have such an impact on someone’s wellbeing and I knew this was the job I wanted to do.
Richard Dalton
Did you know that hidden away in the Phoenix Unit is one of the most exclusive art galleries in the UK? Professional artists, including Turner Prize winners and renowned fashion and landscape photographers donate or work on pieces for the ward or garden, and they host workshops for the service users to produce their own art. The idea started when my friend Tim Shaw and I visited a close friend on a psychiatric ward in another hospital. We felt it was cold, clinical and unstimulating and not necessarily the right kind of environment to help you feel better. We wanted to do something about it. We formed the idea of bringing together quality artists, service users, psychiatrists and occupational therapists to co-produce artwork. People with mental health problems can experience quite a lot of stigma and this project really values people and shows how important it is that they get wider experiences. Niamh White
The Hospital Rooms project at Phoenix Unit has brought more than 'just art' to the ward, it has brought much needed energy too. I believe that projects like this have real potential to have a positive impact on the wellbeing of mental health service users.
Service user
The Bluebell Ward, and some special people working there, have helped me find my path to recovery and have the courage to take this path. For me, this path is art and nature. The resources and art supplies on the ward helped me learn new skills and a new routine, and although art was always a part of my life, it was like the door opened for me. Lara, deaf service user
I learned that just as everyone individual is unique, so are their roads to recovery. This inspired me to paint, in the heart of the Bluebell Ward, scenes appealing to different kinds of people - a night time city scene, a country sunrise and a sunny beach.
Sister Fry was a local nursing sister at Richmond Hospital where she trained more than 80 years ago. This portrait by Alfred R. Thompson was exhibited at the Royal Academy before being purchased by the Tate Gallery in 1940, and was last shown at Tate Britain in 1991. Thomson was Official War Artist to the Royal Air Force.
I was an outpatient service user and was introduced to the Recovery College courses. That changed the course of my life. I volunteered as an art coordinator for the Recovery College summer school and I’ve done that for four summers now. What I love is the feeling of contributing. I often see very shy, anxious people come to the course, sometimes shaking and sweating and doubting their ability, and at the end of the day they are so proud of their artwork they take it home to show their family and sign up for the next course. It’s very satisfying – to create one happy memory in that week or year for a person. All my hard work is worth it.
Owen Reilly
In the beginning, before we understood the virus, before vaccines, and before we had enough PPE to protect everyone, we were the few who came into London and into work every day. It was quiet, and it was scary. Would we get it and die? We hadn’t lived through a pandemic before. It was supposed to be just a three-week lockdown, but it just kept going, and it was hard to understand what was going on. It changed the way we worked, the way we interacted, everything. Overnight.
Heather Brown
At the beginning of the pandemic it was like being a hero. One day, 700 easter eggs were delivered on our doorstep.
Matthew Willoughby
We had amazing support from the community. Several times we had pizzas delivered with thank you notes! We also had fruit, cakes, and ten boxes from Waitrose with socks, hand lotions and face creams for the rashes people would get under the masks.
Ursula LoboMy whole street came out for the Thursday night clap for the NHS. We knew a clap and banging pots and pans wouldn’t change anything, but it was nice people came out to show their support, and it was a treat to chat with the neighbours back then when we were all locked in our houses for weeks.
Nikita AsokarIt was nice to come to work instead of being stuck in my home during lockdown – going to the psychiatric ward was a respite - ironically, it was very good for MY mental health!
Josh Lee
The day after we were sent home I came in to clear out the fridge, feed the fish and water the plants, and I did that each day to make sure everyone came back to a nice place. It was so quiet I could hear the sheep bleating across the road (yes there are still sheep there).
Owen ReillyWe are the crisis treatment team and we would go in full PPE to see clients. This meant gowns, gloves, face shields. The moment you put it on you wanted to take it off, it was hot and uncomfortable. When we could take it off it went into orange clinical waste sacks in the boot, and then I would wipe down inside the car.
Henry Galliford
I was the first to get Covid in Tolworth, at the beginning of the pandemic. They came and sprayed disinfectant all over reception. We were very scared.
Ursula LoboWe went two years without getting covid – then we all got it!
Mimi FaugooI remember it was very hectic. We had to cancel all the face-to-face appointments and introduce virtual Attend Anywhere appointments, after lots of IT support! Some patients loved it, but others couldn’t or wouldn’t use it. Then staff would get Covid and we’d have to rejig the caseloads again.
Maureen BootheWhen the pandemic struck, social distancing had to be implemented – a complex and challenging ask in a very old building, the Wilson Hospital in Mitcham, which houses several community teams. It also became a vaccination centre. Our hats are off to Denise Dixon, our office manager who met this herculean task with aplomb!
Ian JordanI want to say a massive thank you to everyone. What has impressed us is how unbelievably dedicated, tactile, and loving the staff that we’ve come across are here. Thank you so much for letting us into your world and your space.
Stacey Dooley, BBC documentary Filmmaker
After filming the second series of On The Psych Ward for BBC
What I remember is how we had meetings and more meetings upon meetings about Covid. It was extremely difficult – people were off sick, staff numbers were down, wards had Covid outbreaks. Teams were short staffed, and staff were pulled from one ward to cover another ward. It was two years of stress, and the implications on our mental health are still unfolding. Melissa Heath
I look forward to the new buildingsthey’ll have a less institutional feeling for patients, a light, airy place that will help their recovery. Designed with best practice and modern mental health learning and for safety, they are nicely thought out - from door handles to clinical space - they will be easier to work in, a lovely environment for patients, and safer - eliminating blind spots to protect patients and staff.
Joanne Simmons
The site used to be very closed off from the community. We had gates, installed barriers to keep cars out, and prevented local school children from making shortcuts across the property. I never thought I’d see the day when it will be open to the community!
Suresh DesaiWhat I’m looking forward to is a fit-for-purpose building and a better working environment for staff, better patient spaces, and good meeting and public meeting space.
Kathy SheldonI think I’ll miss having a dedicated personal space like a desk or office with pictures of family and other personalisation, but it will be better because the design focuses on patients and we are now working in smart ways which means work life balance is easier to manage.
Joanne SimmonsThe pandemic rapidly introduced change and it caused a revolution in our community treatment and delivery. Previously all our contact was face to face, but adopting Attend Anywhere using video increased our range of contact, and some clients said they no longer needed to drag themselves in to see a doctor.
Michael HeverI look forward to better facilities at Barnes Hospital designed for our elderly and frail patients and visitors.
Claire Pond
I look forward to moving to the new hospitals and seeing how patients will be benefitted by having a nicer environment day-to-day and being more integrated into the community, a step further to destigmatising mental illness and away from the old ‘asylum’ mentality.
Sharon Spain
When I first went to see the new buildings I was taken aback by the size and scale of the wards – and how they’ll be safer, easier and more friendly environments for patients and staff, more therapeutic and more dignified for patients and families. This kind of large-scale investment in mental health gives a positive message about the future of mental health care.
Jacob StoneEverything changed quickly when the pandemic started and we had to start working from home. but we quickly settled into the routine and began meeting people online – colleagues and clients. It was easy to see the advantages for our service – no more trying to find meeting rooms, far less travel and disruption for people! We adapted well to working from home and I am pleased that this will carry on.
Jane HealeyStaff have always said they would value a better work-life balance alongside being more productive in their work. One key to unlock that was technology – and another is the Ways of Working Policy which blends working from home with onsite working, and sets it as our standard way of working. The pandemic may have kick-started it, but it’s here to stay!
Sally JonesNow I can’t imagine not working from home. Stacey Noble
I joined the progamme team to play the role as a ‘critical friend’. I saw actual change to design happening with feedback from nurses, deaf translators and others. I want change to happen not just here – I want it to happen throughout all the NHS.
At every step we involved the voices of our community. People of colour were at a lot of our focus groups at Springfield. And many of our artists were from Caribbean or African backgrounds. There is a huge legacy from the work we are doing together at Springfield –nationwide and internationally.
Siphiwi Mnguni, Artist
Working on the Integrated Programme has been a true marathon of more than 20 years of working with a wide range of talented people to bring us to this exciting moment when we take the first phase (Springfield) into patient service. But that’s just the start of realising the dream, as we start to welcome the new residents of the homes the new Springfield Village is really going to start its vibrant life.
We are also breathing new life into our services at Barnes, Richmond and Tolworth, a journey for the buildings taking us into 2025. Our working with people with lived experience to continually improve our services to patients though, will carry on, using the discussion around planning as the starting point.
When we look around us in 2025, we will see most of our inpatient spaces in new or recently refurbished places. All our rooms will support dignity, safety and respect with en-suites bedrooms and appropriate fixtures and fittings. We will have moved well away from the institutional styles of the past, and by working with the arts charity Hospital Rooms our new buildings will be modern and welcoming, filled with space, light, vitality, wellness and creativity.
We will have faced up to stigma by building new communities around us and will have supported mental wellness by making the most of outside spaces and releasing land for affordable homes. We will have worked across government making a school for special educational needs and disabilities happen at Barnes to complement our our services for children and young people. We will have given the citizens of South West London more equitable access to our services, at the same time levelling up the location of services across the five boroughs we serve, supporting clinical innovation and the NHS net carbon zero aspiration.
Speaking for all the team, it has been an absolute privilege to have a share in making this vision a reality.
Ian Garlington
What a privilege it has been to meet and learn from the dozens of people I met and interviewed for this book of memories - and it has been fascinating!
Two things consistently shone through to me in these conversations – first, the compassion for people who are struggling and second, the hopeful and healing nature of care and caregivers – the words ‘hope’ and ‘recovery’ were constants in our conversations.
I was also struck by how mental health care has changed during the life of Springfield and other hospitals associated with the Trust. And while all at the Trust face monumental changes in environment and working styles (change isn’t always easy), and some cherished things are lost, ultimately, most agreed that things have moved forward for the people who need care.
I’m sure there could be volumes more stories of individuals who have lived and worked here over the past century and a half. I apologise that I have had to edit down many stories, and omit others, it was purely for the sake of space.
Leanne Holgate
Amanda Cummins, Andreas Schoyen, Andy Cohen, Anna Graham, Bernadette McManus, Billy Boland, Binder Mahami, Bryony Cairns, Claire Pond, Claudette Lewis, Clive McDermott, Darren Young, Dave Dowsett, David Heasman, David Moore, Des Muller, Graham Taplin, Heather Brown, Henry Galliford, Ian Jordan, Ian Gibbons, Ionna Prifti, Jackie Harwood, Jane Healey, Janice Murray, Jayne Evans, Joanne Simmons, Josephine Bell, Josh Lee, Kathy Sheldon, Laurie Dahl, Marilyn Edward, Martin Nolan, Matthew Willoughby, Maureen Booth, Maureen Boothe, Melissa Heath, Michael Hever, Mike Wheeler, Mimi Faugoo, Neil Friday, Niamh White, Nikita Asokar, Owen Reilly, Paul Dorrington, Paul Jones, Peju Raji, Peter Ramrayka, Peter Smith, Rachel Bell, Rachel Perkins, Ray Downer, Richard Dalton, Rose Nkrumahadusei, Sally Jones, Sharon Spain, Stacey Noble, Suresh Desai, Tammy Osgathorpe, Theresa Pardey, Trevor Weeden, Ursula Lobo, and service user Lara.
I’d like to thank all the people who spent their precious time with me and those who helped me hunt down stories, as well as the People Readiness and Culture Change Team, the Integrated Programme Team, and especially the Communications Team for their editing and other support. In particular:
Andrea Luis, Anna Barnes, Bob Ryan, Geraldine Jeffrey, Jeremy Coutinho, Jermaine John, Marcus Hamilton-Holman, Miles Rinaldi, Rebecca Snellgrove, Paul Jones, Robin Bruce, and the Communications team: Angus Walker, Dave Moore, Erica Lamb, Helen Redd, Jenna Khalfan, Saffron Pineger, Sophia Alipour, and of course our talented graphic designer Kieron Paradine.
Many memories were shared of the Royal Family, especially Queen Elizabeth II, public figures, members of the local community, colleagues and patients who have sadly passed away and remain in colleagues’ and friends’ hearts.
