Responding to the Government’s green paper for children’s mental health, ‘Transforming children and young people’s mental health provision’, Clare Dolman, Vice Chair, of the Maternal Mental Health Alliance (MMHA), said:
“A child’s mental health is influenced from the moment of conception – and indeed before. We believe that Government should be setting out a strategy for preventing mental illness in childhood: using recent research to address the root causes of children’s mental health problems – not simply to treat them when the damage is already done.”
“We know that this Government and NHS England understand the importance of tackling perinatal mental health and we welcome the investment that they have made in specialist perinatal mental health community services, as described in the Green Paper.
“However, it will be critically important to ensure that these new funds for specialist services deliver well-planned services and are not wasted, absorbed elsewhere or misspent. Clear accountability at the local level is essential to ensure the funding results in good quality services that meet national standards.
“Women need a range of services and pathways to be in place in every local area to support their mental health in the perinatal period. The MMHA is also calling for action across universal services, including ensuring that every maternity service has a Specialist Mental Health Midwife and Health Visitor.”
Read the MMHA’s full response to the consultation here.