Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust strengthens leadership to support integrated neighbourhood care

Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust has announced a set of strategic leadership changes designed to strengthen its leadership and support the development of integrated neighbourhood care across the county.

The government’s 10-Year Health Plan sets out a vision to create neighbourhood health centres in every community. As part of this, the NHS is moving towards more joined-up models of care so people can access support earlier and closer to home.

In Kent and Medway, health and care organisations are developing integrated neighbourhood teams that bring mental health, community health, primary care and social care together centred around the person. The trust is taking a leading role in shaping this long-term direction across Kent and Medway.

Chief Nursing Officer appointed to new integrated neighbourhood health role

The trust’s Chief Nursing Officer, Andy Cruickshank, has been appointed Chief Nursing Officer for the Integrated Neighbourhood Health programme for the Kent and Medway system. He will take up the role in January for a period of two years.

To ensure continuity within the trust, Julie Kirby - current Deputy Chief Nursing Officer - will act up as Chief Nursing Officer, and recruitment will take place to backfill her substantive role.

Strengthening medical leadership

Earlier this month the trust confirmed that Dr Afifa Qazi, Chief Medical Officer, has also been appointed Interim Chief Medical Officer at Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust (KCHFT). This joint role brings mental and physical health leadership together as partners managing care in the community.

Chief Executive, Sheila Stenson, said: “These changes put mental health expertise right at the heart of how local care is being designed. As the only trust covering the whole of Kent and Medway, we are better connected with our communities than most, and that means we have a responsibility to shape these changes, not simply respond to them.

“We are building on a huge amount of great work and experience. We’ve led the biggest transformation of community mental health services in Kent and Medway in a generation, bringing together NHS, voluntary and community partners together into one joined-up model that we and others are continuing to learn from and improve. We’ve also improved access to dementia diagnosis to the highest rate it has even been in the county, with one in four people now receiving a diagnosis within six weeks, well above the national average. This shows what we can achieve when we work differently with partners.

“These leadership changes strengthen our ability to build on that progress and help create neighbourhood care that truly meets the needs of people we serve and ensures mental health is a driving force in how integrated neighbourhood care develops. Together we are shaping a health and care system that helps people not only recover, but live well.” 

Chief People Officer recruitment

Following Chief People Officer, Sandra Goatley’s retirement, the trust will appoint a 12-month interim to maintain stability while national changes to NHS people services are finalised.