'Landmark' change to Kent mental health services

For the first time in Kent and Medway, children and young people's mental health services (CAMHS), adult mental health services, and care for eating disorders are being run by one local NHS mental health trust.

From April 2026, Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust has begun supporting CAMHS, a service previously provided by a London health trust.

Patients are being told they will see the same clinicians, in the same places and use the same contact details.

Sheila Stenson, chief executive of the trust, said it was a "landmark moment" for mental health care in the area.

"When mental health support isn't joined up, it can make a difficult time for people feel even harder as they are passed between organisations, rather than getting the help they need in one place," she added.

The trust believes it will allow its teams to talk to each other more, share more information and prevent people having to keep telling their story to different clinicians, as well as help better support children moving over to adult services.

Donna Donna Hayward-Sussex, the trust's chief operating officer, added: "It's a much better way of coming together and bringing those services for people of Kent and Medway and their families."

The Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust now looks after:

• Specialist mental health assessments and treatment for young people significantly affected by mental health difficulties, in the community and at the Kent and Medway Adolescent Hospital
• Specialist help for children and young people in a mental health crisis
• Emotional Support and Wellbeing Teams in schools to help young people manage issues like anxiety, poor sleep and exam stress before they need more intensive support
• Help for anyone aged eight years or older with an eating disorder
• Assessments and diagnosis for young people with neurodevelopmental needs such as autism and ADHD
• Support for young people with a severe learning disability and behavioural, emotional or mental health needs

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