From the Chair: Listening, Learning and Leading with Purpose
This week, I chaired a meeting of our Trust’s Board, where we discussed key issues and reflected on the progress we’re making to improve mental health care for all our patients.
Reflecting on lived experience
One of the most powerful moments came when we heard directly from a service user about their experience of mental ill health and their treatment at SLaM. These stories are a powerful reminder of the importance of care that is person-centred, compassionate and effective, particularly across our community and step-down services. That’s why all our Board meetings start with a patient’s or carer’s story.
Since I joined the Trust in June 2025, I have been impressed by the commitment to bringing the voices of people with lived experience of mental ill health into our work, and I’d like to thank both the service user and the Behavioural Psychiatry team for sharing their perspectives with the Board.
Listening to the people we serve in this way helps ground our decisions, whatever is on the agenda at Board, and brings us back to our core purpose: improving lives through care shaped by those who receive it.
Safety is our priority
Ensuring the safety of the people who use our services is paramount, and this meeting included a paper on lessons learned from serious incidents, including deaths. I am absolutely commited to building an organisational culture which can deliver continuous improvements to the safety of our care.
We are incredibly proud to sponsor the Seni Lewis Awards which recognise and celebrate best practice in keeping people safe and driving improvements in crisis care. Created in memory of Olaseni ‘Seni’ Lewis, SLaM and the Metropolitan Policy have partnered with the Royal College of Psychiatrists for a special awards evening to be held on 15 December 2025.
Financial Turnaround update
On finance, we reviewed the progress of our Financial Turnaround programme. I’m pleased to report that it is delivering positive results. This work is essential to our long-term sustainability, but we know we must continue to make savings and meet our targets.
Beyond the Boardroom
I recently visited the Croydon Community Forensic service and COAST, an early intervention team supporting people experiencing their first episode of psychosis. This can be a hugely destabilising experience, and it’s vital that sensitive, person-centred support is available when people need it most. It was inspiring to see the dedication of the teams and the impact they are having on people’s lives. Both teams gave me ideas on positive changes we can make across SLaM and how we can celebrate our services.
This week we also marked World Patient Safety Day on Wednesday 17 September, and it has been heartening to see staff across SLaM sharing what patient safety means to them. These reflections show the commitment of our teams to protecting those we care for; find out more and join the discussion on Engage.
Your voice matters
I’m pleased to announce that the NHS Staff Survey is now live. Thank you to everyone who has already completed the survey – your feedback helps us to make the Trust a great place to work and care. Your voice is important, and helps to build a culture where people are proud of the work they do and the care they provide.
Thank you to everyone across the Trust who continues to work with compassion, professionalism and purpose. Your efforts make a real difference.
Jane Bailey
Chair, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust
