Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what specialist treatment is available for mothers suffering post-natal depression in (a) the London Borough of Southwark and (b) England.

This Government is committed to improving perinatal mental health services for women during pregnancy and in the first postnatal year, so that women are able to access the right care at the right time and close to home.

The Department is investing £365 million from 2015/16 to 2020/21 in perinatal mental health services, and NHS England is leading a transformation programme to ensure that by 2020/21 at least 30,000 more women each year are able to access evidence-based specialist mental health care during the perinatal period. This includes access to psychological therapies and specialist community or inpatient care.

As part of this programme, NHS England is expanding the capacity of inpatient Mother and Baby units (MBUs): Four new, eight-bedded MBUs have been commissioned to provide specialist care and support to mothers who experience severe mental ill health during and after pregnancy in areas of the country with particular access issues. Additionally, the number of beds is increasing in existing units, expanding the current capacity by 49% by the end of 2018/19.

In addition, the programme includes implementation of a specialist perinatal mental health Community Services Development Fund, which is providing £60 million between 2016/17 and 2018/19 to support development and expansion of specialist community services across the country.

In the London Borough of Southwark, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust provides a Southwark community perinatal service which identifies, assesses and treats women with moderate to severe psychiatric disorders during pregnancy and the postnatal period (from preconception up to a maximum of one year postpartum), funded by the clinical commissioning group.

Southwark residents can also access a specialist mother and baby Inpatient unit on South London and Maudsley’s Bethlem site in the London Borough of Bromley which is funded by NHS England and is available nationally to patients meeting the admission criteria.