15 July 2022

Every Friday One Community - a network made of mental health patients both currently in and out of Hospital, get together at Bay 20 Community Centre in North Kensington for an afternoon of laughter, fun and most importantly, connection.

On International What Matters To You Day, Improvement Advisor, Bridget Browne and Improvement Coach, Vernanda Julien joined One Community at Bay 20 to experience the uplifting and relaxed atmosphere.

Bridget said, “One Community is a mechanism that can lead to improvement within the Trust. One of our core principles of improvement is that people who use our services should be involved in improvement projects. The patients here have a unique insight on the running of our wards and services. They are as equipped as staff at seeing what we can do better to provide exceptional care. A big thank you to Cate Latto for inviting us today.”

Vernanda said, “The special thing about One Community is it’s a service user-led space which encourages and promotes empowerment. The conversations about what matters to you comes naturally in this relaxed setting. Here, with One Community, talking about improvement just becomes a normal conversation, they’re painting but also telling us what they really need from us. There’s no pressure and it’s allowed them to open up”

Anshu Ryan, Deputy Chief Pharmacist was also in attendance on the day.  Anshu said, “I’ve been talking with patients while they’ve been knitting, painting and having their nails done and without hesitation they’ve opened up to me about their admissions and medication. It is so wonderful One Community has created a space were patients can be themselves and we in turn, as staff, us it as an opportunity to learn and improve.”

One Community is based in St Charles Mental Health unit and is led by Cate Latto. Cate talked about why One Community is so successful in starting meaningful conversations around improving mental healthcare from the perspective of patients:

“One Community represents what truly is important – the value of a social network. Here we celebrate a patient’s strength, build trust and act compassionately. Our ethos allows patients who have different diagnoses, to come together and support one another through listening and sharing.”

See photos from IA’s visit to One Community @ Bay 20 below:

Dont forget to follow One Community on Twitter: @1CommunityCNWL