Enter and view: Kingston Adult Community Services at Tolworth Hospital

Healthwatch Kingston undertook an Enter and View visit to Kingston Adult Community Services at Tolworth Hospital in March 2018.

The visit found mixed experiences of the service. While some people praised staff professionalism, felt supported and reported that the service was helping their wellbeing, many described difficulties accessing support, long waits for assessment and treatment, poor communication and problems with the referral process. Service users reported frustration with the telephone system, delays in receiving appointment information and feeling uncertain about what was happening while waiting for support.

Many people felt services were not always sufficiently person-centred. Some service users and carers said their views were not fully considered when treatment decisions were made and that they had limited choice over therapies or support options. Concerns were also raised about feeling unheard, a lack of continuity, short appointments, insufficient involvement of carers and family members, and a reception area that offered little privacy when speaking with staff.

Healthwatch Kingston recommended improving referral and appointment processes, reviewing the telephone system, increasing awareness among GPs of mental health referral pathways, offering more personalised treatment plans, ensuring service users feel listened to and respected, improving privacy in the reception area, and strengthening signposting to community groups and other sources of support to help improve wellbeing and recovery.