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The Swaleside Outreach Service (SOS) has been working towards gaining its Royal College of Psychiatrists Enabling Environment award for several years and this was achieved in September 2025.

The conclusions of the assessment highlighted that SOS is probably unique in that it provides both a day centre and an outreach service for men who have either failed other treatment settings or been considered unsuitable for anything largely due to extreme behavioural issues. They also noted that SOS is able to create an environment that is safe, creative and conducive to learning and development, which is remarkable. They highlighted that there is a relatively large staff group of clinical and operational staff who appear to be well integrated and enthusiastic.

The EE assessors noted two pieces of freehand evidence from service users that they felt were worth noting:

• ‘In over 25 years of prison time, I've note come across a supportive and open service like SOS. The time they put into each one of us is amazing’.
• ‘SOS is like a day out of the prison. you feel like a human being for a bit. you are treated with respect and you can drop your guard for a bit. The SOS staff are amazing’.

The EE team concluded:

‘SOS is an exceptional service charged with working with very challenging men who have struggled with being accepted by or being able to work with other services. They have created a safe and enabling environment and should receive the EE award’.

Clinical Lead, Rhian Mortimer and Supervising Officer Stef Kew said:

‘As the clinical and operational leads of SOS, we are very proud of our team and the service we represent. The consistent professionalism and dedication of the operational and clinical team has helped in achieving our EE award. Completing the EE process took a lot of time, organisation and contributions from both staff and the service users, however this process has assisted us in cementing our processes and celebrating the successes of the work we do and the positive progress of the men we work with. We recognise the importance of a safe environment and supportive relationships and we will continue developing these areas to ensure we deliver the best service to those who need it most’.