Job overview

Are you a dedicated, compassionate Nursing Associate committed to providing great care? Do you want the chance to help shape a new and genuinely innovative service for the women of Kent and Medway?

We're creating Kent and Medway’s first, and only, NHS Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) for women, and are seeking a talented Nursing Associate to help us deliver this vital service. 

As a Nursing Associate you will be a key member of the multidisciplinary care team and will work under the direction of a registered nurse, have continuing responsibility to deliver and evaluate care, communicate findings, influence change and promote health and best practice, patient safety and experience. You will have a keen interest to support the Physical Health needs of the client group and work closely with the Physical Health Nurse.

We welcome applicants that will be creative and enthusiastic in their approach to developing and maintaining high quality mental health care for service users.

Please note that the start date for this post will be March 2026, to allow for sufficient time for onboarding, induction, and training before the anticipated arrival of the first patient in April 2026.

If this sounds like the opportunity you have been waiting for, come and join our diverse and compassionate team committed to delivering excellent care and support for service users and their loved ones. 

All positions also benefit from a High Cost Area allowance. 

Main duties of the job

• Under direction of the registered nurse, contribute to comprehensive and systematic nursing assessments which take account of relevant mental, physical, social, cultural, psychological, spiritual, and environmental factors, in partnership with the patient and others through interaction, observation and measurement.
• Work collaboratively with other disciplines, patients and their carers to deliver a holistic person-centred care plan that addresses the needs identified through assessment.
• To contribute to the evaluation and review of safe, competent patient centred care in partnership with the patient and their carers to support recovery under the direction of the registered nurse.

Working for our organisation

We are the Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust. We care for the mental health and wellbeing of people across Kent and Medway. Our teams support adults with a wide range of mental health needs. Because we cover the whole county and both hospital and community settings, we can make care more joined up and easier to access for the 1.8 million people of Kent and Medway. Rated ‘Good’ by the CQC, we care for over 2,000 people in our hospitals and 54,000 in the community each year.

Our vision is simple: We are here to help communities not just live with mental illness, but live well. It’s why we’re passionate about working with communities to make mental health care better for everyone. And everything we do is guided by our values caring, inclusive, curious and confident.

Join us - if you share our passion for better mental health care and want to be part of a team that’s doing well together.