Perinatal mental health collaborative launched
The East Midlands Perinatal Mental Health Provider Collaborative has successfully launched in the East Midlands Alliance.
The collaborative ensures the provision of high-quality care for pregnant women and new mothers with serious mental illnesses who require admission to a Mother and Baby Unit, and is being led by Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. The service was previously provided by NHS England.
Perinatal mental health problems are those which occur during pregnancy or in the first year following the birth of a child, and it affects up to 20% of women and covers a wide range of conditions.
If left untreated, it can have significant and long-lasting effects on the woman, her family and her child’s development.
Vikki Ashton-Taylor, the East Midlands Perinatal Mental Health Provider Collaborative Executive Lead, said: “I am pleased to confirm that the provider collaborative has been operating successfully since go-live on 1 October.
“The collaborative partners include community perinatal service providers, so there will be an opportunity to bring together decision-making on inpatient services from providers across the whole pathway and work closely with community teams to connect services and improve quality.
“We have had a strong relationship with regional staff within NHS England to ensure a smooth transfer process and have begun a review to evaluate referrals, admissions, bed use and length of stay to more fully understand activity and flow into perinatal services in the East Midlands.”