The Care Quality Commission

Archived: Old Church

146A Bedford Hill, Balham, London, SW12 9HW (020) 8675 2100

Provided and run by:
South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust

All Inspections

3 February 2012

During a routine inspection

In general, people at Old Church were satisfied with the standard of care and support they were receiving. They felt that they could express their views if they had a problem and that staff would listen to them; or that they would raise issues at the weekly community meeting.

Opinions about the quality of food varied immensely ranging from the 'foods nice' to someone feeling that they had to supplement their diet with take-away meals as the food was so poor.

There was a similar range of opinions about the activities and groups available, some people felt that there was enough available to them whilst others said, 'it's not good enough, there's not enough to do.'

A common theme that did emerge was that people were disappointed with the lack of staff who were fluent in British Sign Language. The lack of fluent communication with staff leads to considerable frustration with people feeling at worst, there was little point in talking to staff. This inevitably impacts on people's experience of the care and treatment that they receive at Old Church.

People who use the service are not involved in developing their own care plans; This has been an ongoing concern with the Trust. There is an additional issue that the care plans need to be written in a meaningful way for people who are deaf, however this still needs to be addressed.