Posted By: Amy Tubb
18th April 2018
4 minute read
PRESS RELEASE - Thursday 19th April 2018
New maps launched today by the Maternal Mental Health Alliance’s Everyone’s Business Campaign show that pregnant women and new mums in a quarter of the UK still cannot access lifesaving specialist perinatal mental health services, which meet national guidelines.[1]
The Maternal Mental Health Alliance welcomes the encouraging signs of progress seen in some parts of the UK but raises the alarm: there is not progress for all parts of the country at the same rate, meaning right now, women and families still face a postcode lottery.
According to the new data, pregnant women and new mums in 24% of the UK still have no access to specialist perinatal mental health services (rated red on the map). The maps show that whilst many more women now live in an area coloured green on the map, meaning specialist perinatal mental health services are available in their locality, it is unacceptable that so many women and their families still cannot access essential care.
Since the last campaign maps in 2015, there have been improvements in services available to women and their babies. NHS England has used new Government money to develop specialist services, and an announcement of the successful areas which will benefit from wave two of their community development fund is expected shortly and will lead to even more green on the map in England. In Wales, the Welsh Government has given money to local health boards who have rapidly improved services. In Scotland and Northern Ireland no prioritised funding for specialist community services has been made available to date.
More than 1 in 10 women develop a mental illness during pregnancy or within the first year after having a baby. Women with the most severe perinatal illnesses need to be able to access vital specialist services wherever they live. If left untreated these illnesses can have a devastating impact on women and their families. In the most serious cases, perinatal mental illness can be life threatening: suicide is a leading cause of death for women during pregnancy and one year after giving birth.
When a woman lives in an area where she is able to access specialist services, with a team of trained staff, it can make all the difference to her quality of care, speed of recovery and support both for her and relationships with her baby and family.
Kirsten, a mum from Peterborough, said: “In my first pregnancy, OCD led to all-consuming terror and to feeling like I couldn’t go on. I told 11 different professionals. I felt desperate, exhausted and invisible. In my second pregnancy I received coordinated services: medication, supportive frequent visits from specialist perinatal mental health staff and talking therapies. Completely life-changing for our family.”
Dr Alain Gregoire, Chair of the Maternal Mental Health Alliance, said: “Over ten years ago national guidelines said that specialist perinatal mental health services should be available for all women who need them. This still hasn't happened. We want to celebrate the new perinatal services that have been set up, but these maps show that there is still an urgent need for change on the ground. For women and families to be able to access specialist services, we need to see funding across all four nations of the UK. The job is not yet done. Women and families across the UK need this map to turn green.”
Specialist perinatal mental health services save lives; they provide specialist treatment and can also act as a catalyst for change across the whole pathway, providing expertise and delivering training to a range of health and social care professionals including GPs, health visitors and midwives.
In order to correct the gaps that currently exist across all nations of the UK, the Everyone’s Business Campaign is calling for all areas of need to receive the necessary funding to end the postcode lottery for specialist services. Commitment at both the national and local level is needed to turn the map green and to ensure these funds actually result in lifesaving services for women and babies everywhere.
Download the UK map as well as maps for England, Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland: http://www.maternalmentalhealthalliance.org/campaign/maps
Contact
Anna France-Williams, Communications Officer, MMHA Everyone’s Business Campaign
Anna.francewilliams@everyonesbusiness.org.uk 020 7117 2875
Twitter @MMHAlliance #everyonesbusiness
www.maternalmentalhealthalliance.org/campaign/maps
Notes to editors
The Maternal Mental Health Alliance (MMHA) is a coalition of over 85 UK organisations with a vision to see all women across the UK get consistent, accessible and quality care and support for their mental health during pregnancy and in the year after giving birth. www.maternalmentalhealthalliance.org
The MMHA’s Everyone’s Business Campaign calls for all women throughout the UK who experience perinatal mental health problems to receive the care they and their families need, wherever and whenever they need it. www.maternalmentalhealthalliance.org/campaign
About the maps
The maps were created from data collected by the Royal College of Psychiatrists in 2017, via self-assessment. Each area was rated using criteria from the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ CCQI Standards (http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/pdf/Perinatal%20Comunity%20Standards%20Cycle%203.pdf).
Data from the new maps
Accessibility of specialist perinatal mental health services, rated green on the map, varies widely across the 4 nations:
What are specialist perinatal mental health services?
Women and babies who need specialist community perinatal care must have access to a team consisting of specially trained staff including psychiatrists, mental health nurses, psychologists, social workers, midwives and health visitors. Inpatient mother and baby units where mum and baby are cared for together are essential when a hospital admission is required.
If you have a query about your colour on the map please email info@everyonesbusiness.org.uk
[1] The Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Quality Network for Perinatal Mental Health Services CCQI Standards (2014, CCQI171)
(http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/pdf/Perinatal%20Comunity%20Standards%20Cycle%203.pdf)
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