Community perspectives on the impact of the closure of acute mental health services at the Gordon Hospital

Healthwatch Westminster and Healthwatch Kensington and Chelsea undertook a project looking at the impact of bed closures for mental health patients as a results of the COVID pandemic.

A total of 133 people were spoken to for the project.

From June to September 2023, they attended various community meetings, including in-person and online series of community events on the future of acute mental health care, events organised by the local council, and care quality meetings of local healthcare providers.  They also spoke with residents who attended Healthwatch community engagement and outreach events in Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea, as well as residents who contacted us via email and telephone to share their feedback.

The Healthwatch team also conducted 14 in-depth interviews with key stakeholders, to gain in-depth insight into the views of people from diverse sectors and organisations. They spoke with representatives from healthcare services, charities, and residents’ associations, as well as several residents with lived experiences of acute mental illness. 

Topics discussed during the interviews included experiences getting  mental health care or supporting people with acute mental health needs, observed changes in acute mental health provision and broader community mental health support (in the bi-borough and beyond) since the Gordon Hospital closure, and recommendations for ways to better meet residents’ and service users’ mental health needs, especially for vulnerable groups such as people who are rough sleeping or from global majority ethnic backgrounds.

There are recommendations in this report. These broadly suggest the need for both in-patient beds and community support for those with mental health support needs.