Foreward

FOREWORD

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