Give your views on inpatient mental health services - Isleworth Friday 27 January

We want to hear your views on adult inpatient mental health services in Ealing

As a result of the pandemic, Hope and Horizon wards at St Bernard’s Hospital are suspended. We have already received a lot of feedback and know staff and patients find the facilities challenging.

We have also heard concerns about the availability of inpatient beds for local people, and through the ring-fenced reinvestment of the funds from the suspended wards in 18 beds at Robin Ward, Hounslow, and other crisis services, we are confident we can ensure there is sufficient capacity for us always to have beds available within West London for local people who need them. We have also not used any “out of area” placements for several years.

Since October 2022, we have been holding open talks to provide service users, patients, carers and local residents time to provide their thoughts on how we can best provide services for people that need them in our local area.

To give you an idea of the main issues we have produced various materials (see below) and held a number of events. We are now hosting several more events to make it as easy as possible for you to feedback.

We have already heard from many local people but have extended the deadline for feedback, until the 28^th of February 2023, so that we can hear from as many people as possible across Ealing, Hounslow and Hammersmith and Fulham.

So far, people have shared their views about the availability of inpatient services in Ealing and how challenged they feel other community and specialist mental health services are.

We have heard how our draft travel reimbursement plan could be improved to ensure it better serves the needs of visitors. As a result of this feedback, we have updated our Frequently Asked Questions – find them on our website, details below..

Though we have heard from a wide range of people and organisations, we are working hard to reach certain groups we know may have views on our plans or be more likely to be affected by them. These include; those with a learning disability, people experiencing homelessness, people from black backgrounds and people from the most deprived parts of Ealing. 

More detailed information about the service and how you can get involved are explained in this document and on our website.

Thanks for reading on and please get in touch to tell us what you think.

Dr Christopher Hilton
Chief Operating Officer (Local Services)
West London NHS Trust

How to get involved:

We are inviting local residents, organisations and members of the public to discuss these plans with us and feed into the final decision making.

We are running a further series of public events, in person, where you can come along to find out more. These will be held on:

• Friday 27 January 10.30am to 11.30am - Isleworth Public Hall, South Street, Isleworth, Hounslow, TW7 7BG – click here to book place
• 31 January 2023, 3pm to 5pm - Anti-Tribalism Movement House, Shepherd's Bush Market W12 8DD - click here to book your place.

You can find out further details on the Trust’s website, where you can also find a link to a survey or email Ealing.adultmhbeds@westlondon.nhs.uk

The engagement period has been extended until the 28^th of February 2023.

Paper copies of the information are also available at St Bernard’s Hospital in Ealing, Lakeside Mental Health Unit in Hounslow and The Claybrook Centre in Hammersmith and Fulham where the Trust provides inpatient care. We will also be resharing information with local partners and community groups, to reach as many people as possible, who may want to contribute.

About the service - adult inpatient mental health provision in West London

West London NHS Trust provides a total of 239 adult inpatient mental health beds across several sites in Ealing, Hounslow and Hammersmith and Fulham.

The changes currently being proposed concern 31 suspended beds at the Hope and Horizon wards at St Bernard’s Hospital in Ealing.

As part of our new model of care, we are proposing to make permanent the interim measures put in place since this suspension which includes the re-provision of 18 beds on Robin Ward at Lakeside Mental Health Unit in Hounslow, dedicated staffing at the Hounslow and Hammersmith and Fulham Health Based Places of Safety and an extra 9 ‘step down’ beds, to support people in their recovery back to independent living. We also have further enhancements including a travel scheme, and enhanced crisis and community services.

The proposals do not affect our other wards and services on the St Bernard’s Hospital site in Ealing – where we will continue to deliver regional specialist forensic mental health and older peoples’ mental health services (272 beds) in separate facilities.

What is the issue with the wards in Ealing?

You can watch this video to get an idea of the issues faced in that healthcare setting.

St. Bernard’s Hospital is a Victorian listed structure constructed in 1829 and Grade II listed in 1985. The Hope and Horizon wards are isolated on this site and provide antiquated environments that did not meet many of the requirements of contemporary care standards. There is poor ventilation, limited access to outdoor space and unsafe design elements, which could be used to cause harm.

In December 2021 the Trust began looking at the long term future of the Wolsey Wing. The Wing was built more than 100 years before the NHS was founded, and has been deemed by The Care Quality Commission as not fit for delivering modern health services. Therefore, we are looking at what options can provide the best quality care possible in the future.

What has been the impact of the changes on access to in-borough beds for residents of Hammersmith and Fulham?

 The Trust has operated our beds on a three borough basis for many years, and our dedicated bed management team works hard to ensure that we have flow through our adult mental health beds so that there is always availability for individuals to be admitted without unnecessary delay, taking their clinical needs into account and preferences where possible.

The data below shows the pattern of admissions in the 12 months before and after the beds were suspended.

The principal change has been a substantial shift in Ealing patients admitted to Lakeside Mental Health Unit in Hounslow (due to the addition of 18 alternative beds in more modern facilities, replacing some of the suspended beds in Ealing), and a small increase in patients from Ealing admitted to Charing Cross.

Despite this, it remains the case that the Hounslow residents requiring admission are by far most likely to be admitted to our beds in Hounslow, and Hammersmith residents requiring admission are most likely to be admitted to our beds in Hammersmith.

What other support is available?

Other key considerations about mental health care pathways that remain in place alongside the current bed suspensions are:

• Choice of admission ward can be affected by Covid status and safe cohorting with other patients of the same status (e.g. one H&F ward was a designated Covid ward in 2020-21).
• Dementia patients: 100% of patients are admitted in Ealing (Jubilee Ward)
• Crisis / Recovery House: 100% of patients are admitted in Ealing (Amadeus House)
• Older persons’ mental health (70+): 100% patients are admitted in H&F (Meridian)
• Psychiatric intensive care (male): 100% patients are admitted in H&F (Askew Ward)

Our approach:

To date, we have spoken to over 280 individuals, attended meetings with key local organisations, and held workshops with specific groups to inform the development and subsequent refinement of options. We have tried to keep everyone involved and updated on our progress, and understand impacts and preferences from those close to the service. We have also used already available patient, carers and staff experience survey feedback to assess experiences of Hope and Horizon Wards before they were temporarily closed.

During this engagement period, we have already held several public events and heard from local community groups, but there are still communities we want to reach.

Links for further information:

If you would like information in other languages, please contact us.

Trust website: https://www.westlondon.nhs.uk/ealingmhbeds

Email: Ealing.adultmhbeds@westlondon.nhs.uk

Phone: Patient and advice liaison services 0800 064 3330 (10am to 4pm except on Bank Holidays)

West London NHS Trust | www.westlondon.nhs.uk