Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust

Our services encompass assessment, treatment, and rehabilitation for mental health conditions, as well as specialised support for individuals with learning disabilities.

As an organisation we are committed to delivering person-centred care, tailoring services to the unique needs of each individual. Additionally, we collaborate with local authorities, charities, and other healthcare providers to create a network of support for the community.

As a Trust we put an emphasis on innovation and continuous improvement to enhance the overall mental health and social well-being of the population we serve. With a workforce of 3,895 employees, including 961 nurses, the organisation plays a vital role in addressing the diverse healthcare needs of the community.

Our employees are from 66 nationalities, allowing us to properly represent and serve the diverse range of communities across rural and urban areas that we cover.Our goal is to empower patients by involving them in decision-making processes and tailoring care plans to their unique needs.

Additionally, a focus on community collaboration and support networks reflects the goal of creating a holistic approach to healthcare.

We are part of the Kent and Medway Integrated Care System, a partnership of organisations that come together to plan and deliver joined up health and care services to improve the lives of people across Kent and Medway.

Find a job working for Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust

Browse our nursing jobs

Browse our support worker and social worker jobs

Browse our clinical / medical jobs

Where we are going

In February 2022 we retained our good overall rating from the Care Quality Commission and were rated as outstanding for 'effective and caring'.

Over recent years, we have seen nationally and locally a rising demand for our support and our services, as well as changes to what our population and our people need.

Mental illness is the second-largest source of burden of disease in England. For people with serious mental illness, 2 in 3 deaths are caused by physical illnesses that can be prevented.

To continue to meet these challenges and achieve our vision, we announced our new three-year 2023 to 2026 strategy.

Services we provide at Kent & Medway Mental Health NHS Trust

1. Mental Health Services: Assessment, treatment, and rehabilitation for various mental health conditions.
2. Learning Disability Services: Specialized support and care for individuals with learning disabilities.
3. Community Mental Health Teams: Outreach and community-based services for ongoing mental health support.
4. Forensic Services: Assessment and treatment for individuals involved with the criminal justice system.
5. Rehabilitation Services: Support for individuals in their recovery journey, fostering independence and well-being.
6. Crisis Intervention Services: Immediate support and intervention during mental health crises.
7. Psychological Therapies: Access to various therapeutic interventions and counselling services.
8. Community Support Services: Collaborative efforts with local authorities and charities to provide holistic community support.
9. Innovation and Research Initiatives: Continuous improvement and innovation to enhance service quality and effectiveness. These specialties collectively enable the trust to offer a comprehensive and integrated approach to mental health, learning disabilities, and social care.
   

Careers at Kent & Medway Mental Health NHS Trust

We employ a diverse range of nursing, care, and clinical personnel so that we can meet the complex healthcare needs of our community. Our clinicians and care professionals contribute to the delivery of high-quality mental health, learning disability, and social care services across the Kent, Sussex and Surrey regions we service.

Kent & Medway Mental Health NHS Trust offers a variety of roles, from nursing jobs and psychologist jobs to occupational therapist and healthcare workers in locations across Kent and the south east.

Registered Mental Health Nurse (RMN)

Mental health nurses lead shifts, coordinating quality patient care, implementing therapeutic interventions and administering medication. Nurses will be considering the medical requirements of patients and monitoring physical as well as mental health. Our nurses develop strong communication skills so that they can work successfully within the multidisciplinary team (MDT) of psychiatrists, psychologists and healthcare workers, as well as within the multi-agency team where required (police, social care colleagues, KMPT discharge coordinators and others).

Registered General Nurse - RGNs

We employ physical nurses who focus on a patient’s physical healthcare (screening planning and monitoring, training staff, promoting wellbeing and providing medical interventions - wound care etc).

Matrons

Matrons are an integral part of the senior clinical leadership team. They uphold, monitor and maintain the highest standards of patient care, in line with national and local quality guidelines. Matrons are allocated to specific wards and are responsive across the locality as required.

Psychologists

Our clinical psychologists contribute expertise in psychological assessments, psychotherapy, therapeutic intervention and talking with our patients about their mental health needs.

Occupational Therapists

The O.T provides assessment & therapeutic interventions. These may include cooking, creative, physical activities among others. Our OTs will plan and implement therapeutic activities. For instance, you might help them in the kitchen, assist them with rehabilitating their cooking skills or join them in artwork therapy. You’ll work closely with the healthcare workers to design therapeutic activities. As one of our OTs, you’re helping to treat our patients by building their independence, teaching them new skills, and rehabilitating them.

Psychiatrists

We employ a psychiatrist on each ward. They are responsible for their ward, taking decisions about the patients, meeting patients, advising on treatment and care and diagnosing. Each of our psychiatrists work within the MDT, but are there to also authorise the legal aspects of each person’s care, working within the mental health framework and making decisions around discharge. This is a clinical and ward leadership role with considerable responsibility.

Healthcare Workers

Day-to-day you will be working with patients and observing patients. You’ll have a good deal of interaction with patients, and be able to provide them with therapeutic activities too. Where a patient is at risk to themselves you may be asked to provide 1-2-1 support and observation, monitor and complete the necessary forms.

Our healthcare workers are there to support patients with their personal care, daily living and from time-to-time will be required to accompany them on escorted leave.You will work alongside colleagues as part of a multidisciplinary team (MDT).

Our values

Successful applicants are likely to align with our commitment to person-centred care, community collaboration, and continuous improvement.

Our six values outline who we are and how we work together with each other, with our service users and with our partners. Everyone is asked to hold these values and commit to them, whatever their role or level.

1. Respect - We value people as individuals, we treat others as we would like to be treated.
2. Open - Work in a collaborative, transparent way.
3. Accountable - We are professional and responsible for our actions.
4. Excellence - We listen and learn to continually improve our knowledge and ways of working.
5. Innovative - We find creative ways to run efficient, high quality services.
6. Working together - We work together to make a difference to our service users.
   

Career development at Kent & Medway Mental Health NHS Trust

Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust believes in investing in and delivering personalised learning, development and career pathways.

We open our door to those seeking work experience, or those who are already qualified and looking to develop their career in nursing, the allied health professions (AHP) or administration.

We are proud to offer a successful Return to Practice programme for nurses and AHPs.

We would love to hear from previously-registered RMNs and RNLDs considering regaining their PIN. Our Return to Practice programme is run in conjunction with Canterbury Christ Church University and Greenwich University.

We provide apprenticeships across the Trust including in clinical departments, wards, and community services. These apprenticeships provide an opportunity for students to explore possible careers within the NHS and find out more about the working environment whilst studying for a qualification.

Many staff apply for, and are successful in obtaining, new roles across the organisation, whether that be secondments or permanent vacancies. We value skills developed within the Trust and will work with you if you want to transfer those skills to another department.

We have a structured annual appraisal process in place.From your first days with us we will do our best to help you develop a career pathway that fits your ambitions.

So, from day 1 KMPT is committed to supporting you and this includes a comprehensive induction programme. The programme's duration depends on your role and can be from 2 days to 4 weeks. This induction programme provides an excellent opportunity for you to meet and engage with KMPT’s diverse range of subject specialists and it will include the required training for your specific role.

Employee benefits

In addition to our competitive NHS pay and pension schemes, we try our best to make sure that our benefits package supports an active approach to your own health and wellbeing and makes a positive difference to your working and home life.

From health programmes to recognition events, we want you to feel you are supported at work so that you can lead a balanced and happy life.Here are some of the benefits on offer at Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust.

You can see our full list of benefits in the table elsewhere on this page.

Inclusion & staff support

We are a Disability Confident employer. This means that we:

• Have undertaken and successfully completed the Disability Confident self-assessment
• Are taking all of the core actions to be a Disability Confident employer
• Are offering at least one activity to get the right people for our business and at least one activity to keep and develop our people

The Disability Confident scheme aims to help employers make the most of the opportunities provided by employing disabled people. It is voluntary and has been developed by employers and disabled people’s representatives.

We will do our best to support flexible working (job share, term time working, flexible shifts) where possible. KMPT provides a face-to-face counselling service for those staff who face any issues (not just work related issues).

We encourage all staff to join staff network forums which can empower, support and encourage network members and allies to reflect KMPT values, and promote equality and diversity.

Come and join us in Kent

Kent is a beautiful county in the south east of England. If you’re thinking of relocating, we can offer competitive relocation packages.

These are some of the benefits of living and working in Kent

• Easy access into London
• Some of the best schools in the UK
• Great shopping including Bluewater
• A mix of rural, coastal and urban housing
• Some of the UK’s best attractions including Leeds Castle and Canterbury Cathedral
• Close proximity to Eurostar, Gatwick and ferry crossings
  

Discover our hospitals

Laurel House, Canterbury

St Martin's Hospital, Canterbury

Littlebrook Hospital, Dartford

Highlands House, Tunbridge Wells

Medway Community Mental Health

Priority House, Maidstone