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We are very keen that people who use our services tell us about their experiences, good or bad to enable us to learn and improve. If you have used one of our services please visit our services pages, find the service you have used and leave a comment.

576 Comments

Service: Greenwich Time to Talk

I wish to pass on my sincere gratitude to the Greenwich Time to Talk IAPT Service and to two individuals whom were particularly helpful in providing me with care.

I self-referred to the service and had an initial telephone-based appointment with Leanne.

Leanne was friendly, kind, and her tone was welcoming, so she perfectly set up a positive relationship with the service, which is extremely important. She gave me a choice of therapeutic support based on evidence, and used outcome measures appropriately to think about the difficulties I had and the type of support that the service could offer (which was in turn based on NICE Guidance).

After a period of waiting (which could have been shorter, but is much shorter than many psychological therapies services), I saw Pam, CBT Therapist.

When I first met with Pam, she gave me a space to open up about my difficulties, but importantly conveyed a message of hope. She had the belief in me that recovery was possible, and that I could reclaim my life. This was a prospect I found extremely unlikely at the time, but have now come to realise was and has been entirely possible.

I felt understood and comfortable in Pam’s presence, and felt that she was authentic, sharing her own experiences where relevant and appropriate, which was something I highly valued.

I was mindful that I had previously difficult experiences of therapy, particularly of therapists ending therapy after a strict arbitrary number of sessions (which was not based on the best research evidence or guidance) or providing therapy which had very little empirical support.

I am happy to say that I have been given therapeutic support which I feel has been based on research evidence and clinical guidance (personalised to my needs), and have been given the time and space to work on my difficulties.

For the first time since the age of 15, I can say that I feel comfortable in my own skin and talking about the traumatic experiences that have affected me. I no longer go out in public fearing for my life and safety, and this has helped me to feel free again. Working on my difficulties also helped me to be well enough to progress in my career.

Thank you Pam, Leanne, and the Greenwich Time to Talk team! The work that you do changes lives.

Thank you very much for taking time to provide feedback for the Greenwich Time to Talk team.

We are glad that we were able to help you and support you in your recovery journey. We will pass on the words of gratitude to your therapist and the team.

We appreciate the feedback we receive from all our patients and we use it to shape and improve the services we deliver accordingly.

Best wishes

Sophia Ploumaki
Associate Director, Greenwich Mental Health Services

Service: GSH Central (Greenwich Contraception and Sexual Health)

I came for the 8am Thursday women’s walk in clinic and was told that the first people start arriving at 7am. There are only 16 places available and by 0755, 12 of them have been taken. Please would you advise people both on this website and on Twitter that they need to arrive 60-30mins before the clinic begins in order to get a place? I travelled 45mins to get to you, paid for parking and took time off work only to be told this information at the clinic itself. I would really appreciate it if you could make this change. Thank you.

Dear Amina

Thank you for your comment. The opening times shown on the website are the times the clinic is open, not the times you are guaranteed to be seen. We operate a 'walk in and wait' system, but the number of service users that can be seen varies depending on the number of staff working that day.

We do not advertise or encourage service users to arrive 30 to 60 minutes early, as there are days when we open the doors and no one is waiting. When service users phone us we do let them know that it is advisable to arrive before the door-opening times as we can get very busy.

It was unusual for so many people to have been waiting yesterday morning, and I am sorry to hear that you did not get seen. We currently offer women-only bookable appointments specifically for Long Acting Reversible Contraception (LARC) on a Monday morning and on a Thursday evening, as well as the women-only walk in service on Thursday mornings.

We hope to have more bookable appointments which will allow people to plan their visits. Otherwise please join our twitter feed (@gshmarketstreet) for regular updates as to the business of clinics.​

Kind regards

Lisa Thompson, Associate Director
Adult Community Services - Greenwich

Service: Green Parks House (adult wards)

Very many thanks to all the staff at Betts Ward for their great care and attention towards my partner and myself when I visited her. Each and every team member on Betts Ward were kind and professional in difficult circumstances. Special thanks to Nosa, Sinda, Petty, Ndozi, Ruke, Oesey, Alex and Dr Bienroth. Dr Bienroth listened attentively and was responsive to our needs acting promptly and very professionally. Once again many thanks from both of us. Best wishes.

Dear CJ

Thank you for your feedback on the positive experience you and your partner had on Betts Ward. On receiving your message we conveyed our thanks to the Betts Ward team acknowledging their excellent care delivery and the valuable impact it has had.

All of our staff are focussed on improving patient experience and delivering high quality care and receiving specific feedback is helpful in acknowledging those individual staff and teams who go the extra mile.

The feedback we receive is viewed at the highest level within the trust as part of our quality improvement governance structure. We endeavour to learn from all comments we receive and knowing when we have got it right is very helpful in continuing to improve the care we provide.

Thank you again for taking the time to feedback.

Best wishes

Adrian Dorney
Associate Director, Bromley Directorate

Over last 3 months been very low
Seen doctors lots of phone assessments
Waiting for appointment with time to talk
Having occupational health appointments at work now they refer me to IAPT
Just going round in circles

Dear Pat

Thank you for your comment and we are sorry to hear that things are difficult at present.

The clinical lead from GTT service Stavros Markatselis (tel: 0203 260 1102) will be able to assist you. He will be in touch with you today.

Kind regards

Sophia Ploumaki
Associate Director, Greenwich Mental Health Services

Service: GSH Central (Greenwich Contraception and Sexual Health)

Absolutely fantastic service. I went to get my coil removed but the strings were missing, so they squeezed me into a consultant clinic a few weeks later, and its now out! The service is really fast as long as you queue up before doors open, and I had to only wait about 5 mins before I was seen. Everyone is so friendly and this is honestly such a great service. I really thought the coil was lost forever but Dr Ulrika was amazing. Cannot fault you guys at all!

Dear Mimi

Thank you so much for taking the time to provide us with feedback.

I am really pleased as service lead, and personally, to hear you had such a positive experience of the service.

The team work hard to provide a high level of service and appreciate your feedback.

Best wishes

Dr Ulrike Sauer

Service: Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS)

Not helpful! I called the number at 3:30pm on a Monday, to be told on the phone the service is now closed, that it was open until 4pm...it would be helpful if you provided a service people could call if this one is not working any more....

Dear Jennie

Thank you for contacting us and I'm sorry your call was not answered straight away.

Our PALS telephone service is open between the hours of 9am to 4pm Monday to Friday. However, if the PALS Officers are engaged with other contacts there is the option to leave a message for the team. Once a member of the team is able they will respond to any messages left.

I understand a PALS officer responded to your message and spoke with you at approximately 4:20 pm and subsequently contacted the service on your behalf.

Kind regards

Marcianne Coggins
Complaints and PALS Manager

Service: Health Visiting Service

Hello! During my last appointment with health visitor (6 week baby check), she mentioned that there is an Oxleas website that I can go onto and look up various places in my area that offer activities for babies. I can’t seem to be able to find such detail anywhere, can you point me in the right direction please? Thanks!

Hello Hanna

Thank you for posting your query about the Oxleas Greenwich 0-19 years website.

I think your health visitor would have been referring to the Health Advice drop-in sessions that are run by the health visitors and nursery nurses across Greenwich.

You can find our website at: http://greenwich0-19.co.uk/

Alternatively, this link will take you directly to our timetable of health advice sessions:
http://oxleas.nhs.uk/site-media/cms-downloads/OX192_Oxleas_CYP_Timetable_17.01.2019.pdf

If you were looking for activities such as mum and baby drop ins and stay and play activities for yourself and your baby, you will be able to find out what is available at your local Children's Centre by clicking on this link and choosing the Children's Centre you wish to visit:
https://www.royalgreenwich.gov.uk/directory/15/directory_childrens_centres

Kind regards

Ellen Shelly
Head of Public Health Nursing 0-4 years

Service: Adult Speech and Language Therapy

I have noticed that when I speak, people usually have difficulty understanding what I am saying. This was not always the case until about the past 10 years. I do not understand why I can't communicate clearly or properly anymore the way I used to. I have to admit that at the same time, I seem to have become more forgetful as well. I notice that I can start a line of idea, then would quickly jump into another - and I think this confuses the listener even more. Sometimes, I jump words when I speak.

Because of this, I have lost a lot of great opportunities for work.

Dear Tim

Many thanks for posting your concerns. Changes in speech and memory can occur for various reasons, and should definitely be medically investigated.

I would urge you to make an appointment with your General Practitioner (GP) as a first step - they will undertake an initial examination and investigation, and start any necessary treatment or make any required referrals to more specialist services.

It is important not to ignore this, even it turns out that there is nothing serious wrong.

Kind regards

Dr Derek Tracy
Clinical Director

Service: Greenwich Time to Talk

It has been a bit difficult to arrange a meeting, given the amount of patients NHS has, but I am currently going under a CBT cycle with Emma, who offered me a face-to-face treatment, opposite to the initial group therapy I had been booked for following my phone assessment, and she is amazing. She has taught me how to tackle anxiety and live with my issues, overcoming them. I have to recommend this service and to thank her and Greenwich Time to Talk for helping me in such a difficult phase of my life.

Dear Barbara

Many thanks for taking the time to send your message of thanks to the Greenwich Time to Talk Team.

It means a lot to our staff to receive compliments as they continuously strive to provide an excellent service. I will pass your message on to Emma and the team.

Best wishes

Rachel Matheson
Service Manager for Mental Health

Service: Bexley Crisis Café

I have a situation where I know of someone who is self harming and definitely on the brink of suicide!
I do not have any idea of how to manage this situation and need urgent advice!
Can you please advise me via email or text asap?!

Dear Colin

I'm sorry to hear that you have a mental health emergency on your hands. I have emailed you directly, as well as responding on-line to your query.

There are several options right now:

1. In an emergency I would urge you to call 999 for ambulance/police services as they are the fastest response.
2. An individual can be brought to A&E for a rapid 'liaison' mental health assessment 24hours a day: depending where you are based, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, the Princess Royal Hospital, and Darent Valley all provide this service.
3. Our urgent advice line can be called 24hours a day on 0800 330 8590.
4. If there is a pressing need, but some lee-way with time, your GP can refer to mental health services for a rapid review.

I hope that between these options there is something you think will work in your situation.

kind regards

Dr Derek Tracy,
Consultant Psychiatrist & Clinical Director

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