30 October 2024
Our Trust has joined the Yorkshire and Humber Perinatal Mental Health Provider Collaborative, working with seven other providers in Yorkshire and the Humber to improve perinatal mental health care for women across the region.
Perinatal mental illness affects up to 20% of new and expectant mums. Conditions range from mild to severe, including depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, eating disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia, bipolar and postpartum psychosis. If left untreated, perinatal mental health issues can have significant and long-lasting effects. The Yorkshire and Humber Mother and Baby Unit provides inpatient care to the women of Yorkshire and Humber with moderate to severe perinatal mental health difficulties.
This united approach presents a significant opportunity to transform perinatal mental health services for women and their families. Our ambition is to provide care and treatment at the right time, in the safest place for them and their baby and be closely connected to their local services and support networks – all vital ingredients for effective care.
Women who have experienced perinatal mental health difficulties and their families will now play a greater role in decision making to improve patient care. They will work closely with clinicians to address known challenges and support and influence decision making by bringing their unique perspective to help shape the future of perinatal mental health care across the region.
This ‘coproduction’ approach will be a golden thread running through the collaborative and will help reduce variations in care across communities. Improved links with community services will ensure we’re making best use of inpatient beds and reducing the need to place patients outside of the region.
The Yorkshire and Humber Mother and Baby Unit, which is based in Leeds, is expanding its bed base from 8 to 14 beds over the coming months. This expansion will significantly improve access to the Mother and Baby Unit and will mean that women will be able to receive care closer to home rather than travel to a unit that is away from the Yorkshire and Humber area.
Gopinath Narayan, Clinical Director, Yorkshire and Humber Perinatal Mental Health Provider Collaborative, sets out the vision for the collaborative:
“Our goal is to work together to improve mental health care for new mums and their families. We want every woman to get the right care, at the right time, in the best place for both her and her baby. By partnering with families and other services, we’re committed to making sure everyone across Yorkshire and Humber has equal access to the support they need.”
Bronwen Ashton, Peer Support Worker at Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, the lead organisation in the provider collaborative, attended the first co-production group meeting. She said:
“I feel we collectively provided some really powerful examples of lived experience and the importance of co-production. I learnt a lot from the session and look forward to being an active member of the Perinatal Mental Health Provider Collaborative Co-Production Group.”
Help shape our services
Your experience matters. We’re looking for expressions of interest from women with lived experience of perinatal mental health difficulties to join our co-production group. Your insights are invaluable in shaping care that truly meets the needs of women and families.
To express an interest, please contact Roger Mumby, Yorkshire and Humber Perinatal Mental Health Provider Collaborative Lead, at [email protected].
The providers in the Yorkshire and Humber Perinatal Mental Health Provider Collaborative are:
- Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (Lead provider)
- Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust
- Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Foundation Trust
- Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust
- Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust
- Rotherham, Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust
- South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust
- Navigo Health and Social Care CIC
