Junior doctors industrial strike action

The British Medical Association has announced that junior doctors will take part strike action from 7am on Thursday 27 June and 7am on Tuesday 2 July 2024. 

While we expect there will be disruptions to our services; we have worked hard to ensure that we have robust contingency plans in place to offer safe mental health services during this period.

If your appointment is affected by the strike on any of the days, you will be contacted in advance. Your appointment will be rescheduled as quickly as possible.

If you do not hear from us, please attend any appointments that you have as normal.

We hope that the industrial dispute is resolved as soon as possible, but apologise in the meantime for any disruption it may cause.

Who to contact if you need help

Anyone experiencing an urgent mental health crisis can call 111 and select the option for mental health when prompted to speak to a specially-trained mental health practitioner.  If you think there is a risk to your life, or the life of someone else, please do not call 111. Dial 999 instead.

Calling 111 and selecting the mental health option will connect you with someone trained to help people experiencing an urgent mental health crisis.  While we know that this may mean different things to different people you could be in crisis if:

• You feel like you want to hurt yourself, or someone else
• You hear strange voices
• You feel that people are watching you or want to hurt you
• You are experiencing extreme distress that seems overwhelming or you can’t cope with day to day life

Are you a KMPT patient?

The quickest way of getting help if you are a KMPT patient experiencing an urgent mental health crisis is to contact the team caring for you during their working hours.  Your Community Mental Health Team is available Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm. If you are being supported by a Home Treatment Team they are open between 8am-9.30pm, 7 days a week.

If you think you are in an urgent mental health crisis outside these hours, please call 111 and choose the mental health option offered.

Alternatively, if you are looking for emotional support or want to talk to someone, you can contact the Release the Pressure helpline 24 hours a day on 0800 107 0160. You can also text “Kent” or “Medway” to 85258 for 24-hour mental health crisis support via text.

How to find help for children and young people (under 18)

Residents of Kent and Medway who need to contact Children and Young Peoples Services (sometimes referred to as CYPS or Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services / CAMHS) can contact the 24-hour Single Point of Access (provided by North East London Foundation Trust) on 0800 011 3474 (select option one, then option three).

More information about local services and support can also be found on the Kent and Medway Mental Wellbeing Information Hub here. https://www.kentandmedwayccg.nhs.uk/mental-wellbeing-information-hub 

Please visit our need help section of our website for more information: https://www.kmpt.nhs.uk/need-help/