Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust, which has been rebranded Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust (KPMT), was rated requires improvement for community-based mental health services for adults and mental health crisis services.

Serena Coleman, CQC deputy director of operations in Kent, said: ‘Following our inspection at KMPT, we were deeply concerned to find the trust didn't always provide care that was safe or personalised to people's needs and its quality had declined significantly since our last inspection.'

Sheila Stenson, chief executive officer of Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust said accepted the CQC's findings ‘in full'.

Stenson said: ‘The report makes for difficult reading, and while this is not the outcome we wanted, it reflects areas that we had already identified from our own independent review earlier this year and had begun to address as part of our continuous improvement plan.

‘Since March, we have already made improvements and have a detailed plan in place to address the remaining issues raised, and we are confident that the changes underway will lead to meaningful and sustainable improvements.

‘We remain fully committed to delivering the highest standards of care and support, and with the continued dedication of our staff and the involvement of people who use our services, families and carers, we will move forward with determination and transparency.'

The CQC report came ahead of the trust's announcement this week of its rebrand, which it described as ‘a new chapter for mental health care in Kent and Medway'.

Stenson said the new name reflected ‘who we are and what we do'.

From spring 2026, KPMT will also encompass children and young people's mental health services and all-age eating disorder services, giving families a single point of access.