We have formally submitted our application to NHS England to become a new Trust and, pending no final delays, we are less than 100 days from our two trusts – BEH and C&I – coming together on 1 October!

I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who contributed to our Patient Benefit Cases. We are now working with colleagues – clinical and non-clinical - at every level of our Partnership on planning the future and how we can best deliver the benefits for our service user, carers and staff that we believe we can do more easily and quickly as one new Trust.

We will have a single bed base allowing us the flexibility to reduce out-of-area admissions. We will have consistent and excellent models of care across our five boroughs, including, for example, those needing care for dementia. By working together on preventative treatment, we can also reduce the number of people requiring emergency, unplanned care.

We will continue to keep you updated on all the improvements we are making to deliver this real step-change in how we provide care.

Volunteers' Week is a nationwide celebration of all those who give their time and energy to various communities and organisations for free. This year's was the 40th edition and took place 3-7 June. 

We rely on the vital contributions of our volunteers to support our service users and staff across the Partnership and are ever so grateful for everything they do.

This month, some of our volunteers shared their stories and explained why they do what they do. Visit our website to find out more and maybe see a few familiar faces 

Carers Week ran from 10 - 16 June and gave us a chance to recognise the contributions of unpaid carers in our communities and raise awareness of what it's like to have these caring responsibilities. 

The annual campaign raises awareness of caring, highlights the challenges unpaid carers face and recognises the contributions they make to families and communities throughout the UK. It also helps people who don't think of themselves as having caring responsibilities to identify as carers and access much-needed support. We arranged a number of events for Carers including a webinar on Care Planning, a tour of the Wellcome Collection, and Carers Awareness Training for staff.

Thank you for all you do. 

I would also like to remind you that the annual State of Caring survey from Carers UK is open. We know carers are busy and very much appreciate everyone who takes the time to complete the survey. The survey will close on 11 August and Care UK will be sharing the results later in the year. Please click here to complete the survey. 

Our Children and Young People’s Mental Health Services team held their first conference, “Healthy Children and Happy Families” at the Royal National Hotel in central London on 6 June.

The event provided a valuable opportunity to reflect on and discuss critical issues affecting young people and mental health services and was attended by over 130 colleagues from across our Partnership, the voluntary sector, social care, commissioners and clinicians from other Trusts in North Central London.The highlight was the contribution by our young people who are Experts by Experience.

20% of young people are diagnosed with a mental health condition and our Chief Executive, Jinjer Kandola MBE, highlighted how as an organisation we remain dedicated to prevention and early intervention, working closely with schools and local community groups to provide the necessary support.

We were delighted to be joined by guests including Sheena Gohal and Grace Harding from NHS England and Professor Argyris Stringaris, Chair of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at UCL.

One of the overarching themes of the day was co-production and members of our recently-formed Youth Board spoke about their own personal experience with our service and how working with the team on their own treatment had benefited them. Click here to read more. 

We are delighted to announce the launch of a new exhibit at The Conference Centre Gallery Space at St Pancras Hospital to celebrate and demonstrate the power of the arts as a source of recovery for war veterans.

Artwork will include photographs from former paratrooper Andy Dawling, who has been travelling across England on a mission to raise awareness of veterans’ mental health and the services that can provide them with support and use artwork to connect and recover. 

The exhibition opens Thursday 27 June, 5.30 to 8.30pm. There will be refreshments and live music. The event is open to all, but please RSVP to Theartsproject1@gmail.com so the organisers can gage numbers. 

Please visit our website to find out more