Top 10 trust served warning notice as quality ‘declines significantly’

A trust ranked in the top 10 of the government’s new provider league table for the mental health and community sector has been served with a warning notice after a Care Quality Commission inspection found multiple breaches of regulations. 

Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust has been told to make urgent improvements, after the CQC rated safety in one of its key services as “inadequate”.

The trust sits within segment one of the four-tier league table and is ranked ninth out of the service’s 61 mental health and community trusts. It achieved the third-highest score for a dedicated mental health trust.

K&M was given an “above average” score for patient safety, one of the five domains that make up the overall league table ranking. This rating was given despite one of the two indicators used to calculate the domain rating – the proportion of staff “raising concerns” – placing the trust 52nd out of 61 mental health and community trusts.

K&M was ranked as “high performing” in the “effectiveness and experience of care” domain.

The CQC inspection of the trust’s community mental health services for working age adults raised concerns over the lack of up-to-date risk assessments, long waiting times and insufficient staffing levels.

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Source: HSJ, 9 October 2025