On Monday 26th November, I was delighted to be at the launch of the NSPCC Northern Ireland report – “Time for Action on Perinatal Mental health care in Northern Ireland”.
I’ve been involved with this report from the early stages, as a mum with personal, lived experience and now as the Maternal Mental Health Alliance, Everyone’s Business Co-Ordinator, in Northern Ireland.
(To contact me in my MMHA role email me at lindsay.robinson@everyonesbusiness.org.uk )
It’s great to have the report published and the research is crucial to moving forward services/support for mums and families impacted by maternal/parental mental health difficulties.
Focusing on the perspective of Midwives and Health Visitors (from Northern Ireland), the report makes 5 vital recommendations –
1. Training standard on Perinatal Mental Illness
2. Face to face time and continuity of care
3. Detection of PMH needs via screening tools and professional-service user relationship
4. Importance of the Parent-Infact relationship
5. Provision of specialist services and the establishment of a Mother and Baby Unit in Northern Ireland.
(This is in the line with the RQIA rewiew into Perinatal Mental Health, published Jan 2017 and supports the Campaign calls from the Maternal Mental Health Alliance’s #EveryonesBusiness campaign.)
Read the full report here – https://bit.ly/2TMzwD9