Geographically one of the largest NHS Foundation Trusts in the country, we provide mental health and learning disability services for the people of County Durham and Darlington, Teesside, North Yorkshire, York and Selby.

We deliver a wide range of community and inpatient care across adult mental health, children and young people’s services (CAMHS), mental health services for older people and forensic services.

7,500 staff work across more than 90 sites, including Foss Park, a new state of the art 72-bed hospital and research space in York which opened in 2020.

We develop and deliver cutting edge mental health research through our partnerships with universities, research funders, neighbouring NHS trusts and other non-NHS organisations. We also sponsor prestigious national research programme grants in behavioural activation, each in excess of £2 million.

With an emphasis on providing research which is relevant and will make a difference to the lives of local people and those we care for, we deliver local, national and international research studies across the age span including questionnaire studies, psychological therapy, dementia sleep studies and drug trials, and a world-first COVID-19 vaccination study.

From April 2021, our provider collaborative with Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust (CNTW) will be responsible for the commissioning of children and young people’s mental health inpatient services, adult low and medium secure services and adult eating disorder services. The benefit of working in this way is an increased clinical input into commissioning decisions and design of new pathways. We’re aiming to reduce health inequalities across our area by making access to treatment and support much easier and focusing on community alternatives to hospital admissions.