About us

Your mental health matters. We're here to help.

We care for the mental health and wellbeing of people across Kent and Medway.

Our teams support children, young people and adults with a wide range of mental health needs. Because we cover the whole county and both hospital  and community settings, we can make care more joined up and easier to access wherever you live.

We work with you, your family and carers and your community. We listen to what matters most, so care feels safe, respectful and closer to home.

We are proud to be a place where our expert and dedicated staff, patients, carers and partners come together to support people to live well, and make mental health care better for everyone. 

Living well with mental health

Living well doesn’t mean never feeling low or anxious. It means having the right help to manage mental health problems, recover, and lead a life that feels meaningful and hopeful.

Sometimes that’s about treatment and therapy. Sometimes it’s about support with wider areas in your life like work, relationships, housing, or staying connected to your loved ones and community.

Our goal is to help you stay safe, feel understood, build skills and confidence, and find hope for the future - even when mental health problems are severe or long term.

Our new name

Until October 2025 we were called Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust (KMPT). 

Patients, their loved ones and our communities told us the name didn’t make it clear that we provide mental health care.

We listened. Our new name - Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust - puts mental health front and centre. It shows our promise to make support easy to find, to be clear about who we are and how we can help, and to stand proudly for better mental health for everyone in Kent and Medway.

Our four values guide what we do

• Caring: Showing kindness and looking after each other every day.
• Curious: Listening, learning, and improving to find better ways to care.
• Inclusive: Making sure every voice is heard and respected.
• Confident: Leading positive change in mental health.

Wherever you are in Kent and Medway, we’re here for you and your loved ones. These values were co-developed in 2025 as part of our trust identity priority and launched in October 2025.

The support we give

Mental health is just like physical health - everybody has it and we all need to take care of it. We help people when mental health problems become serious, long-lasting, or life-changing. This might mean:

• Feeling very unwell for a long time or not getting better with usual treatments.
• Experiencing psychosis (seeing or hearing things others don’t, or feeling very confused or suspicious).
• Living with bipolar disorder, severe depression, or other illnesses that cause big changes in mood, energy, or daily life.
• Struggling with complex personality difficulties that affect relationships and safety.
• Needing specialist care because of other brain or nervous system conditions.

We don’t usually provide first help for milder mental health problems such as everyday stress, worry, anxiety, or mild depression. For these, your GP, local talking therapies (IAPT), and community wellbeing services are often the best places to start.

Our teams step in when problems are serious or complex and someone’s safety, health, or everyday life is deeply affected. We support people through different stages of their mental health journey, giving expert, joined-up NHS care.

Our services

Some of the care we provide includes:

• Urgent and inpatient care: Help when you’re in crisis or need hospital support.
• Community mental health: Local teams helping you stay well at home and through our community hubs.
• Mental Health Together: A community service that brings together various services and organisations to address an adult's whole needs - including mental health, physical health, social support, relationships, employment, and debt. Find out more about Mental Health Together.
• Crisis home treatment and rapid response: Intensive support in your home.
• Liaison psychiatry: Mental health expertise for people in physical health hospitals.
• Early intervention in psychosis: Fast help for a first episode of psychosis.
• Forensic services: Care for people involved in the justice system.
• Emotional Wellbeing and Support Teams in schools to help young people manage issues like anxiety, poor sleep and exam stress before they need more intensive support.
  
• Eating Disorder Services: Help for anyone aged eight years or older with an eating disorder
  
• Autsim and ADHD assessments: Assessments and diagnosis for young people with neurodevelopmental needs such as autism and ADHD
• Specialist and complex care services: a wide range of expert services, including: 
  • Rosewood Mother and Baby Unit - supporting new parents who are unwell after birth
  • Thrive - our psychological support for birth trauma and loss
  • Services for people with a learning disability
  • Bridge House - specialist detoxification and recovery support
  • Neuropsychiatry and community brain injury teams
• Health-based places of safety: Safe spaces for immediate care under Section 136 of the Mental Health Act.
• Vocational rehabilitation: Help to rebuild confidence and return to work.
• Personality disorder services: Specialist therapy and support in the community.
• Research and innovation: Testing and developing better ways to support mental health locally, nationally, and worldwide.

Looking ahead, our 2026 - 2031 strategy

This year marked the end of our 2023 - 2026 three-year strategy, an important milestone in our journey. It helped us make important progress and learning across our Trust, and build stronger foundations for improvement. 

Alongside data, national trends and insights, we’ve also listened extensively to staff, patients, partners, and communities and have proudly developed our new 2026 to 2031 organisational five-year strategy, called 'Doing Well Together'. The strategy was signed off by our Executive Board on Thursday, 26 March 2026 at Public Board.

Our 'Doing Well Together' strategy will be published later in 2026. This is so we can complete the necessary governance required to close down our current strategy and supporting workstreams.

A full communications and engagement programme is in place to help everyone understand the new strategy, what it means and how we will achieve it together. 

Until then, our current 2023 to 2026 strategy will remain published on website:

Download our 2023 to 2026 three-year strategy

Download our 2023 to 2026 three-year strategy in easy read format

Need help or want to get in touch?

Our services run 24 hours a day, seven days a week. To get in touch, or for assistance, please visit our need help page.