Better Environments
Large parts of our mental health estate are old and have been isolated from the communities we serve, reflecting outdated, stigma-laden attitudes to mental ill health.
Our Better Environments Programme is changing this by investing nearly £280m to develop modern mental health facilities to provide some of the best spaces for recovery and care the NHS has to offer.
At the same time, this innovative programme is reimagining a new social landscape for our sites across South West London to transform the relationships we have with our local communities for the better.
We are now halfway through our journey. Following the £150m transformation of Springfield Hospital in Wandsworth, we are continuing to work hand-in-hand with our patients, carers, service users and the wider community, investing almost £130m to develop new facilities across Richmond and Kingston.
In all, the programme is facilitating a total investment of more than £1bn across healthcare and urban development.
Together with our partners, Better Environments is delivering:
· Better Communities for Springfield : The ongoing development of Springfield Village, a new stigma-breaking community at the heart of Wandsworth with new mental health facilities, hundreds of new homes and a brand new 32-acre park – new areas opening up to 2027/28
· Better Communities for Richmond : A refurbished facility, Richmond Royal Wellbeing Centre, at the site of the former Richmond Royal Hospital – opening in summer 2025. And a brand-new multimillion pound outpatient facility alongside a new school at Barnes Hospital in Richmond – opening in 2027
· Better Communities for Tolworth : A new £110m, five-ward facility at Tolworth Hospital in Kingston, to replace five existing wards – opening in early 2028.
Better Communities for Springfield
We have received fantastic feedback on our new facilities at Springfield University Hospital over the past year. The new Trinity and Shaftesbury buildings opened in 2022 and 2023, providing state-of-the art facilities for eight wards and both Adult and Children and Young People’s outpatient services.
An ‘Enter and View’ survey of the new environments conducted by Wandsworth Healthwatch received a rating of over 80% positive feedback from patients and visitors. As part of the Trust’s evaluations, patient experience scores for inpatient and ward environments shared through our ‘Feedback Live’ surveys indicated a 45% improvement. And across our adult acute wards, we saw a 36% reduction in patient incidents in the 12 months since the buildings opened.
We received a rating of 97% in the national Patient-Led Assessments of the Care Environment (PLACE) survey (see Better Care section).
They also look at factors such as how environments support patients with disabilities. Feedback is gathered directly from patients and staff to help to identify areas of strength and improvement. The results for 2024 are an increase on our score of 96% in 2023, and 94% in 2019. They also mark the highest performance across all mental health Trusts in London.
Bringing Springfield Village to life
The new Trinity and Shaftesbury buildings sit in Chapel Square, at the heart of Springfield Village, a vibrant new community designed to break mental health stigma and deliver inclusive environments to support our community’s health and wellbeing.
Alongside Springfield University Hospital, Springfield Village includes a new public square, a gym, cafes and shops, many of which opened over the last year, as well as a new 32-acre public park. Over 1,200 new homes, a third of which are classed as affordable, are also being delivered across the site, with hundreds of residents continuing to move in up to 2027/28.
In early 2025 transport links for Springfield were enhanced with the G1 bus coming further into site and an extension of the 315 bus route through from Balham, supporting accessibility for patients, visitors and residents.
The second area of our park opened to the public, featuring a pavilion café, an amphitheater, a youth shelter, further play areas, a sensory garden, a trim trail, and much more. An official opening will take place in summer 2025 in line with Wandsworth Borough of Culture celebrations.
Community engagement continues to be a key focus in Springfield Village. Activities to date have included:
• Events with the Wandsworth Chamber of Commerce to engage local businesses to support mental health awareness and signposting
• Events and engagement with local schools, including a design competition for the new Youth Shelter in Springfield Park
• A ‘Talking Benches’ campaign to create safe spaces to talk about mental health in the park
• Annual carols concert in the new public square with local churches, choirs, and schools
• And a mental health awareness training programme to raise mental health literacy across our community.
Better Communities for Tolworth
Following a detailed process of planning and consultation with patients, carers, staff, and our wider community over a number of years, we are now working to redevelop Tolworth Hospital to deliver a second centre of excellence for mental healthcare to stand alongside Springfield.
We secured the final approvals for Tolworth’s £110m redevelopment, which is funded in part through the sales of derelict estate at Springfield. In early 2025, the final part of this process was completed, releasing funding for Tolworth and enabling the creation of a further 449 new homes at Springfield at a rate of 50% affordable. This brings the total number of new homes created as part of the new ‘Springfield Village’ to 1,288.
Between March 2024 and March 2025, we completed our ‘Early Works’ programme for Tolworth. This supported the removal of old and unused buildings and the delivery of infrastructure improvements across the site in readiness for construction works to begin. New signage co-produced with patients and service users was also installed across the site following changes to Tolworth’s layout.
In March 2025, a special ‘Groundbreaking’ event took place as staff, patients, and community stakeholders came together to celebrate the start of the build programme. Over the next two and a half years, a new hospital building will now be created at the centre of the site to provide modern accommodation for five existing wards.
This will also help to centralise and rebalance services across our two major inpatient centres.
From early 2028, a total of seven wards, up from three, will be based at Tolworth, with four wards relocating from older buildings at Springfield and one from the Acacia Unit at Tolworth. This follows an £8m refurbishment programme to upgrade Tolworth’s existing wards.
Tolworth Hospital will continue to provide a wide range of outpatient support through our Adult Community, Older Persons, and Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), as well as providing a base for many of our corporate and administrative teams.
Destigmatising mental health environments will also continue to be key to our ambitions as we transform our estate. At Tolworth we will be working to break down barriers and integrate the hospital with the community just as we have at Springfield.
In the years ahead, we will be working to upgrade landscaping at Tolworth and open up the site to the community with new entrances, a central plaza, and community café, breaking down mental health stigma and bringing our services closer to the people we serve. A quarterly newsletter launched in spring 2024 now provides regular updates for neighbours and stakeholders across Tolworth’s programme, and we look forward to continuing to work with our community, patients, carers, and staff as the build progresses.
Better Communities for Richmond
In Richmond, our Better Communities Programme is delivering a combined investment of £17m across our estate to provide modern facilities for both our Adult and Children and Young People’s outpatient services.
We progressed the refurbishment of the new Richmond Royal Wellbeing Centre at the site of the former Richmond Royal Hospital, and began our ‘Early Works’ programme to support the redevelopment of Barnes Hospital.
The Richmond Royal Wellbeing Centre will provide a new outpatient facility following a £2m renovation programme. Richmond’s Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services will relocate here from their temporary base at Livingston House in Teddington in summer 2025. All our services previously based at Barnes Hospital relocated to Livingston House in spring 2023 to ensure no interruption to our services during the respective refurbishment and build programmes.
Engagement with patients, carers and our community over a number of years has supported the redevelopment of Barnes Hospital. From 2027 this will become a new mixed-used community made up of healthcare, housing and education.
Half of the site was sold in 2017 to support residential housing and to provide funding for the Better Communities programme, with the other half providing for a new outpatient facility and a new 90-place Social and Emotional Mental Health (SEND) school (developed by LocatED (the property arm of the Department for Education), and to be run by the Beckmead Trust).
Over 2024 and into 2025, our ‘Early Works’ programme at Barnes has involved removing old and unused facilities and preparing the site for construction works.
We have been working closely with our community across this programme providing a number of engagement forums and newsletters, and we continue to work closely with patients, carers, staff and wider stakeholder including the Friends of Barnes Hospital as we finalise elements such as interior design and landscaping.
Due to the growth of our community teams in Richmond, we will be retaining our Livingston House facility moving forward. Once our new building at Barnes is complete in early 2027, Richmond’s Adult Community Mental Health Services will be based at both Barnes and Livingston House, supporting accessibility for patients across both sides of the borough.
A huge thank you to everyone who has contributed to the success of our Better Communities programme over the past year. We look forward to progressing our programme in the year to come and delivering on our aim to transform our estate to deliver better care for generations of people who rely on our services in South West London.
Better Digital
Through this programme, the Better Digital team, aims to empower patients to own their care and achieve the best possible outcomes through our secure, reliable, and accessible digital systems; and for digital clinical and corporate workflows to be streamlined and intuitive, supporting our staff to deliver safe, efficient, and effective services. We have organised our digital work into four core themes:
1. Digital First – digitally enabled employees: We have worked to increase digital literacy as well as grow our workforce’s digital skills and support within the clinical and business teams.
2. Digitally-enabled patients: We have supported the implementation of e-referrals.
3. Interoperable and intelligent systems – digitised pathways: We worked to further standardise clinical systems and create digital solutions that support standardised activity. We have also supported the adoption of electronic observations for patients.
4. Supportive infrastructure - digital inclusion and cyber security : We have continued working towards the NHS cyber security framework and developing and promoting a cyber profession.
We launched a number of specific digital changes.
· New Mental Health Assessment form launched : This new form streamlines the assessment process making it quicker for patients and staff.
· Approving or processing eWorkflows forms: We transitioned to electronic forms and workflows, so instead of printing, manually completing, and physically delivering forms, you can now fill them out electronically on your device via our eWorkflows app. Again, this makes our processes more efficient and improves the experience for patients and staff.
· eMental Health Act launched: The Trust’s eMental Health Act (eMHA) system, launched in January 2025. An e-learning module introduces eMHA Thalamos, a digital tool that helps staff manage Mental Health Act (MHA) processes more safely and efficiently.
Next year our plans include building on our cybersecurity work, the development of a Patient Engagement Portal and development of AI solutions to support clinicians and staff.
Our role as an anchor institution
Our groundbreaking Better Communities programme has given us the unique opportunity to lead the way as an anchor institution. As one of the largest employers in South West London, we recognise our vital role in the community.
We aspire to be deeply rooted in and connected to our local area, allowing us to positively impact the health and well-being of local people, not just by offering high-quality mental health services, but also by offering employment opportunities, quality work, and career development. We are investing in and replacing our estates within our local communities to reduce stigma, break down barriers, and be actively anti-racist. Through our role as an anchor institution, we have an opportunity to manage our land and buildings in a way that has a positive social, economic, and environmental impact. The effects of good management can improve the health and well-being of our communities and reduce health inequalities - and we are working to develop measures to understand impact.
As an employer, we are increasing awareness of NHS career paths within our local communities and building our future workforce. As a procurer of services, we are shifting more spending locally and embedding social value into our purchasing. We are founders of the ground-breaking South London Listens initiative – a prevention programme co-produced with our communities. Through the programme we are proud to have set up multiple mental health ‘Be Well’ hubs across our boroughs, accredited as a London Living Wage employer, and worked with young people to create a virtual ‘CAMHS Waiting Room’ providing clear information on waiting times – all while striving to improve the resources available to patients while they are waiting.
Green agenda
We secured £90,000 for LED lighting upgrades on one ward and £300,000 for solar panel installation at Tolworth Hospital. Both projects are scheduled for delivery within the next year. Beyond external funding, we have also invested in the installation of EV chargers, the purchase of a new EV for our fleet, window replacements at Springfield Hospital, the upgrade of older air handling units, and the phased removal of F-gas refrigerants at Tolworth Hospital. Looking forward, our ambition is to fully transition our fleet to EVs and ensure the supporting infrastructure is in place.
Community Engagement
As a commitment to our local communities, South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust has been running mental health training for local residents. Funded by NHS Charities Together in partnership with Mental Health First Aid England. We trained 200 Champions.
Initially targeted at the new residents of Springfield Village to break mental health stigma, raise mental health awareness, and improve mental health literacy, the programme is now extended to residents and employers from across South West London.
Engaging with Wandsworth Chamber of Commerce
As part of our ambition to create inclusive and mental health aware employers in South West London, the Trust hosted members of the Wandsworth Chamber of Commerce as part of World Mental Health Day celebrations. The theme was ‘Workplace Mental Health’, so we were thrilled to be able to share top tips for looking after your mental health, as well as showcasing the work of our Employment Specialists with a range of employers from Wandsworth. Chamber members were invited to attend future MHFA Champions training. We are also starting to be productive members of Kingston Chamber.
Mental Health Awareness Week also saw us install new signs on benches across Springfield Park, offering a simple yet impactful way to raise awareness of mental health support, especially in times of crisis.
We celebrated the week by joining forces with our development partners to host two local schools at Springfield Hospital as part of our celebrations. In the newly opened area of Springfield Park, we first welcomed students from Saint John Boscoe College to cut the ribbon on a youth shelter which was designed by former student Stephanie. Our friends from Fircroft Primary School also planted daffodils in the new community planters opposite the Pavilion Café.
South London Listens
South West London St George’s NHS Mental Health Trust and the South West London ICB are lead partners in the South London Listens programme, a collaboration of both south London ICBs, the three south London mental health trusts, nine local authorities and over 150 community organisations working to prevent a mental health crisis as a result of Covid-19 and support community recovery. With a strategic partner Citizens UK, the programme has listened to over 10,000 people to develop five key priorities and a range of co-created solutions.
South London Listens is now supporting 81 organisations and hundreds of community leaders in South London (including 31 across the SW London boroughs); who are now taking forward their work as part of the Be Well programme. In addition, 41 new Be Well sites are in development. Organisations involved include a range of diverse community groups, faith groups, universities and schools. In 2024/25 we updated the Be Well toolkit and brochure for community organisations and developed a FAQ resource.
Our Trust Charity
We have continued to grow our Trust Charity throughout 2024/25 with members of staff and communities taking part in challenges for Charity and other fundraising initiatives. In September 2024, we had 15 riders for the London to Brighton bike ride and 15 runners for the Vitality 10k, collectively raising over £10,000. Promoting these challenges has also raised awareness of the charity and created a culture of fundraising for staff to use for their area. Christmas was a busy time for the Charity, too, as we launched our first ‘We Care Gift Bag’ winter appeal, in which we reached our target of £2,000. The appeal was in partnership with local mental health charity, MoMark, who provided an equal contribution so that every inpatient (380 in total) received a festive gift bag worth £10 containing a lip balm, stress ball, notebook, beanie hat and travel mug. These items were selected as being both beneficial to patients and also inclusive of those receiving them. We received lovely feedback from both patients and staff, and discussions have already started about continuing this tradition for Christmas 2025. We are so grateful to our fantastic volunteer support worker, Sarah, for driving and delivering this project in a short timescale, which was an incredible achievement.
The appeal was also supported by Chapel Square tree light switch on event, in which Trust staff, patients, and members of the community came together to sing carols and switch on the Christmas tree lights as part of the Trust’s 30th birthday celebrations .
Choirs from Fircroft Primary School and Holy Trinity, Mary Magdalene and St Augustine Churches lead us through the specially selected range of carols and hymns, as well as a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday.
Finally, in April 2025, we had three amazing Brighton Marathon runners who joined the throngs of athletes and crossed the finish line, for our Trust Charity . Among those representing the Charity was Non-Executive Director and Trust Charitable Funds Committee Chair, Juliet Armstrong. The Charity also learned that we have secured a coveted place at the London Marathon in 2026.
Although the Charity continues to use CAF Donate to receive donations, we have moved over to Just Giving as our main platform as this offers functionality for people to have their own fundraising campaigns linked directly to the Charity.
We have partnered with micro-giving fundraising company, Microhive, and successfully implemented this in collaboration with our Payroll colleagues to offer Trust staff the opportunity to donate the pennies of the pay every time they are paid. While individually these are small amounts, collectively they can make a significant impact and provide a regular and reliable source of income for the Charity. We thank everyone who has supported our charity, including staff and others who do so on a voluntary basis. We have no dedicated paid charity staff.
We thank everyone who has supported our charity this year, including staff and others who do so on a voluntary basis. We have no dedicated paid charity staff.
Performance against objectives
The table below describes how we have performed against our objectives, in terms of outcomes and metrics. We reviewed our delivery of this at the May 2025 Board.
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Annual delivery plan 3: Better Environments
Key outcome: To create Better Environments providing state-of-the-art mental health facilities, improving access and outcomes, and reinvigorating working practices for staff and service users alike |
Year-end delivery rating |
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Outcomes/Metrics: Sign-off of Tolworth Business Case |
Delays to Barnes sale completion and CAMHS move to Richmond Royal are delayed to Q2 25/26. |