The Everyone’s Business Campaign is delighted to hear that agreement has been given to build new specialist perinatal mental health inpatient Mother and Baby Units (MBUs) in four areas of England. Four providers have now been selected.

This will take the total number of MBUs across the UK from 17 to 21. The providers are:

• Devon NHS Partnership Trust
• Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust
• Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust
• Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust

In contrast, Wales and Northern Ireland still do not have an MBU (and there is no MBU in the whole island of Ireland).

Alain Gregoire, Chair of the Maternal Mental Health Alliance (MMHA) said:

“We welcome the news that four new Mother and Baby Units will be built in England. It begins to redress the longstanding postcode lottery of specialist perinatal mental health services that multiple organisations have been campaigning about for many years.

“The MMHA will continue to work with the Government, Department of Health and NHS England to ensure that the new services open as soon as possible and deliver high quality care. We will also continue to campaign to ensure these services, and the whole pathway of care, are available to all women and families who need them, irrespective of where they live.”