Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust

From today, Thursday 1 April 2026, Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust will support children and young people who need specialist mental health care, as well as the adults it has always looked after.

It will also help people aged eight and older to overcome eating disorders, provide ADHD and autism assessments for children and young people and is now responsible for the Mental Health Support Teams in schools, known locally as Kent Emotional Wellbeing Teams. These services were all previously run by North East London NHS Foundation Trust (NELFT).

The Kent Emotional Wellbeing Teams offer direct support, parent-led interventions, and group workshops, aiming to improve young people's wellbeing and help them with issues like anxiety, poor sleep and exam stress before they need more intensive support. Parents and carers should continue to contact their child’s school for more information.

To make sure people currently using these services do not experience any disruption, service users will see the same trusted clinicians, in the same places and use the same contact details. Waiting lists for neurodevelopment conditions will not be affected, no one will wait any longer as a result of the move. For professional partners who work with these services, please also carry on using the same referral processes and contact details. All information and referral forms will now be available on Kent and Medway Mental Health Trust’s website

The trust will also now start work - involving its staff, service users and their families, partners and communities - on creating a new, more integrated, all age model of care, that makes it easier to access mental health care for those who are most unwell, and provides a better patient experience.