NELFT are one of the largest providers of Mental Health Support Teams (MHSTs) in the country with teams in Kent and Medway, Essex and London.

On 9 November 2023, the third National Celebration Event for the MHST programme was held, which was an opportunity to reflect on the programme and to showcase areas of good practice and innovation.

The Kent and Medway MHST were asked to present on their work around workforce, and to showcase the innovation and rapid growth in their area.

Since the launch in 2019, the MHST programme has rapidly grown and with this growth, there has been significant increase in workforce, and access to care, the team is not only is one of the largest MHST’s nationally but was also part of the initial trailblazer programme in 2019.

Katherine Anderson, Head of Service, known locally as Kent Emotional Wellbeing Teams and Medway Emotional Support Teams, was proud to showcase all the hard work in the county as well as present on the innovation around management of workforce challenges.

MHSTs are a new government initiative which started in 2019 to help increase children and young people’s access to support for emotional wellbeing and mental health.

MHSTs work within education settings and support in three key areas:

• Targeted intervention for low-moderate mental health presentations
• Supporting the development of a Whole School/Collage approach to mental health 
• Consultation and liaison around emotional wellbeing and mental health.

The Kent and Medway MHST will also be presenting later in the year at the national MHST communities of practice around their research and clinical interventions related to sleep for Autistic Young People.

For more information about the service and its projects and resources please see their website Kent and Medway Mental Health Support Teams | NELFT NHS Foundation Trust