What we do
Battersea Bridge House aims to provide a safe, caring, supportive, therapeutic and homely environment for 22 men with severe enduring mental illness and additional complex needs, in order to help them overcome the challenges that they face every day and to realise their full potential.
We provide a high quality, safe and secure environment which encourages the development of skills and competencies. We do this by offering individualised treatments and specially tailored groups which help in eliminating inappropriate behaviour and establishing appropriate patterns of coping and problem solving. We work closely with referring clinical teams to ensure that people in our care are able to return to their home areas at the appropriate time.
We provide care and treatment that is planned individually and reviewed at regular intervals, ensuring that every person in our care has an agreed integrated pathway through secure care with clear, therapeutic objectives.
At Battersea Bridge House, we ensure the use of the Care Programme Approach (CPA) process to monitor progress and minimise length of in-patient stay in secure care
Our dedicated clinical team provides a multi-disciplinary approach including:
- Psychiatry
- Psychology
- Nursing
- Occupational therapy
- Activity Co-ordination
Intervention may include:
- Sex offender treatment
- Fire setting interventions
- Substance misuse programmes
- Thinking skills and problem solving
- Interventions for anxiety, depression, trauma, psychosis and personality disorder
- Anger management
- Violent offender management programmes
We also offer groups to develop communication skills, conflict resolution, understanding of risk and understanding of illness.
Facilities:
The environment at Battersea Bridge House is modern and finished to a high standard promoting a comfortable and relaxed atmosphere for people in our care, and all bedrooms offer en suite facilities including adaptations to support disability. Gym facilities are also available.
Our Team
Hospital Director
Our Hospital Director began his early career as a Qualified Nurse in secure and forensic services. After four years as a Staff Nurse, he moved through into management and had roles in a variety of NHS Trusts, including Clinical Team Leader, Ward Manager, Team Manager, Service Manager and Project Director.
With over 20 years’ experience within these services, he decided to take a new and different direction, and started work as a Management Consultant within NHS Commissioning, managing a large programme of change for Mental Health improvement within London. Working with providers ranging from NHS secure services through to the voluntary sector, his work contributed to the improvements in the delivery of services within Lambeth. He then went back into direct service provision within Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust and Milton Keynes. There, he led the recovery of two services one of which was recently acquired, and were left fully CQC compliant.
Consultant Psychiatrist
Our Consultant Psychiatrist trained at South London and Maudsley NHS Trust and has been working as a Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist in London since 1996. She has extensive experience in low secure settings and prison psychiatry, and her special interests include treatment resistant psychosis and neurodevelopmental disorders.
She was an instrumental part of the team which developed Battersea Bridge House Hospital, working there for 4 years from shortly after the unit opened until 2014.
Registered Counselling Psychologist
Our Registered Counselling Psychologist has ten years of experience of working in inpatient forensic settings.
In 2003 she obtained an MSc in Cross-Cultural Psychology from Warsaw School of Social Sciences and Humanities, and then completed a Doctorate in Counselling Psychology at City University, London. Prior to her current post in BBH, Patrycja was the lead psychologist on the low secure rehabilitation ward and the PICU in Cygnet Hospital Beckton where she developed relevant care pathways and greatly contributed to creating a therapeutic milieu across the service. She is skilled in formulating and implementing tailored treatment plans for complex presentations, as well as creatively overcoming reluctance to engage in therapy. She is bilingual (English and Polish), and highly competent in working with diversity across culture, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, religion and age. Her professional interests include acculturation and embodied mindfulness.
She also began training as a yoga therapist with the Minded Institute in 2015 as she intends to continue bringing innovative mind-body interventions into her clinical practice.
Lead Social Worker
Our Lead Social Worker is a registered social worker with the Health & Care Professional Council and Approved Mental Health professional. She has been practising as social worker for over 20 years and has worked within community mental health teams as well as in hospitals. Prior to Joining Battersea Bridge House she worked in East London in a medium security hospital. She has extensive knowledge and experience of the application of the Mental Health Act 1983 (amended 2007) and Mental Capacity Act 2005 and also has knowledge and experience of the Care Act 2014 and matters relating to safeguarding adults and undertaking carers assessment and Care Act assessment.
Support Services Manager
Our Support Services Manager is responsible for the Mental Health Act administration and the management of the auxiliary staff at Battersea Bridge House.
She joined the team at Battersea Bridge House following 10 years experience in Mental Health Act administration within a low secure independent hospital. In 2012 she obtained a certificate in Mental Health Law & Practice.
Prior to joining the hospital, she had been working in busy administrative roles where she had been responsible for developing and improving processes, coordinating projects and supporting Directors, Managers and training teams. She brings this wealth of experience to her current role.
Mental Health Act Administrator
Our Mental Health Act Administrator joined Battersea Bridge House since its establishment in 2009. He obtained his BS and MS in nursing from Philippines and graduated from Masters in Public Health from University of Bedfordshire and worked in Nepal and Thailand before joining Battersea Bridge House.
He is currently working as Mental Health Act Administrator. He is also supporting the unit via leading in contracts management and ancillary staff management and employment and works closely with the Hospital Director to ensure all operational needs of BBH are met.