On the road: We have met nearly 500 people during a busy first week for our foundation trust roadshow

Published Date: 15 June 2012

As the first week of our foundation trust roadshow draws to a close, we are well on the way to meeting up to 500 people across south west London.

We spent a day each in Sutton, Carshalton, Isleworth, Richmond and Roehampton meeting local people and hearing their views about how to shape their local mental health services.

People attending the roadshow have been able to put their questions and comments directly to clinicians, mental health practitioners, social workers and other members of staff from the Trust. Topics have ranged from:  what it means to be a foundation trust, experiences of dementia services, treatment for depression, and what the future of community services might be.

The excellent materials Time To Change have provided us with have also provoked some really interesting discussions around stigma, the need to talk about mental health issues more openly and the recent MPs debate in the Common on mental health.

"We have had an excellent turnout despite the unpredictable weather," said foundation trust engagement and consultation lead, Jonathan Gregory.

"The team has worked very hard and we have had lots of good conversations about local people getting involved.

"We've had good feedback from local groups, including Sutton LINk who say they are feeling much more positive about the Trust these days."

The roadshow continues next week as we head to Clapham, Balham, Wimbledon, Kingston and New Malden.
More details about the roadshow, including dates, times and locations, are available on our website.

Time to talk: Tom Woodford (right) from the Trust explaining our foundation trust consultation to a local in Richmond