Perinatal Mental Health

Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust is the provider for specialist perinatal community mental health and inpatient perinatal mental health care in Lancashire and South Cumbria.

Ribblemere Mother and Baby unit opened in October 2018 and is an inpatient facility for mothers with serious mental health problems to access support and treatment whilst remaining alongside their babies.

The Specialist Perinatal Community Mental Health Team launched in January 2019 and provides support to women experiencing mental health difficulties related to pregnancy, childbirth and early motherhood.

We also work to minimise the risk of relapse in those women who are currently well but who have a history of severe mental illness.

What does 'perinatal' mean?

Perinatal mental health problems are those which occur during pregnancy or in the first year following the birth of a child. Between 10% and 20% of women develop a mental illness during their pregnancy or within the first year after having their baby. If left untreated, it can have significant and long lasting effects on the woman and her family.

'Perinatal' means the period of time covering your pregnancy and up to roughly a year after giving birth.

What are perinatal mental health conditions?

Women can experience any kind of mental health problems during and after pregnancy, but there are some that are particularly common or are specifically linked to pregnancy and childbirth including:

perinatal depression
perinatal anxiety
perinatal OCD
postpartum psychosis
postpartum PTSD

How to access advocacy services? If you need any independent help and advocacy whilst using our services including advice on making a complaint, the Advocacy Services can help you and be contacted as follows:

Advocacy Access

Telephone: 0345 456 3210

Text Phone: 07886 744 634

Email: contact@advocacyaccess.org.uk

Empowerment (Blackpool residents only)

If you are a Blackpool resident you can contact Empowerment.

Telephone: 0300 323 0251

Email: admin@empowermentcharity.org.uk

Web: www.empowermentcharity.org.uk

How to access a second opinion?

Whilst working with our team, you may be seen by a variety of professionals. It is ok for you to ask for a second opinion, if you disagree with your diagnosis or plan of care. Ask your lead professional, doctor or member of the MDT if you would like to discuss this.

How can you access your information?

If you would like to know more about the information we hold about you and what we do with that information, please ask the health or social care professional that you are seeing or a member of their team.

You can ask the following:

What personal information do we hold on you?
What is it used for?
Who has it been shared with?
How long it will be kept?

You are entitled to access your health records under the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) and Data Protection Bill 2018. This is known as a Subject Access Request (SAR). Unless the request is complicated or involves a large volume of information copies will be provided free of charge.

SARs are managed in accordance with the Trust Access to Records Policy. Your information will be reviewed first by a healthcare professional to ensure that what we send you will not cause upset or distress to your wellbeing. We will also check that the information we send you does not contain information you are not entitled to see.

You are only entitled to your own personal data, and not to information relating to other people (unless the information is also about you or you are acting on behalf of someone).

Subject Access Requests can be made as follows:-

On an informal basis, as part of the care process we can go through your record with you (by you requesting to view your record with a health professional).
On a formal basis, by you requesting in writing a copy of the record. You can also contact the Health Records Advisor via the Trust headquarters.

Visit our access to health records page for more information.

How to raise concerns, complaints and give compliments?

We understand that sometimes people do not have a satisfactory experience of using our services and this can be for a number of reasons. Our policy is to look into all complaints that are formally made, openly and transparently and to ensure we learn from what you share with us.

If you would like to give feedback, have a complaint looked into or raise any concerns please speak to a member of your care team in the first instance, or contact PALS

How to contact PALS

Freephone: 0800 234 6088

Telephone: 01772 676 028

Email: pals@lscft.nhs.uk

Visit our Complaints page for more information: Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust.

How to access interpreting services?

We have access to interpreters as and when they are needed, and are provided by an approved service for either telephone or face to face support. You will be asked at the outset whether you have another first language and if you require interpreter, please do ask us if this is required.

The Mental Health Act

The Mental Health Act 1983 (and amended 2007) provides a legal framework within which health and social care staff can intervene, where necessary and when the legal criteria is met, to protect people who are deemed to be suffering from a mental disorder.

The Mental Health Act can seem quite confusing and complicated. We have some videos to explain the sections of the Mental Health Act and what it means for yourself or a loved one.

Visit our dedicated section on the Mental Health Act