Wandsworth MPs Visit Local Mental Health Trust

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Tour ward catering for deaf patients and see ongoing construction work

The three MPs see how work is progressing on new facilities

The three Labour MPs representing constituencies in Wandsworth borough have toured South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust this month.

Fleur Anderson, Marsha de Cordova and Rosena Allin-Khan visited the Trust’s deaf service and the construction site of its new mental health facilities.

Their visit comes after Conservative and Liberal Democrat MPs local to south west London also toured the facilities earlier this year.

The group visited staff on Bluebell Ward, one of three national specialist deaf services in the country that offers support to deaf and blind people experiencing mental health issues. Staff shared their experiences of supporting service users during the pandemic and gave insights into the care provided.

Ward Manager for Bluebell, Jacob Stone, commented, “It was a pleasure to show Rosena, Fleur and Marsha around our deaf services and introduce them to staff and service users.

“We’re really proud of the specialist care we provide here at South West London and St George’s and it’s encouraging to hear local leaders taking such an interest in our work.”

This Autumn the Trust is marking ’12 months to go’ to the completion of its new mental health facilities, Shaftesbury and Trinity Buildings. During the visit MPs toured the construction site and were able to visit the future Bluebell Ward in Trinity Building.

The facilities will sit at the heart of ‘Springfield Village’, a new community being developed by the Trust and its partners. This will also see the delivery of more than 800 new homes, retail units and a new 32-acre park for the borough.

Commenting on the visit, Ian Garlington, Integrated Programme Director for the Trust said, “There is so much innovation happening at South West London and St. George’s at the moment, as we bring forward investments in our buildings, our people and our services.

“We are excited to be only 12 months away from the opening of Trinity and Shaftesbury buildings. These will be home to a range of services and represent years of planning and hard work, including over 400 consultations with people across our communities. Most importantly, they will provide outstanding new environments that help further improve the lives of our service users, carers and anyone who comes into contact with, or works in our services.”

“Beyond this our new 32-acre park will begin opening from Spring 2023, providing a fantastic new outdoor space for our whole community. We want to thank everyone who has helped us to get to this stage and we look forward to sharing in the benefits Springfield Village will bring to south west London.”

November 24, 2021