Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether perinatal mental health training is incorporated into the undergraduate and postgraduate syllabuses for all general practitioners, health visitors, midwives, nurses and obstetricians and mental health professionals.

The Government has mandated Health Education England (HEE) to provide national leadership on education, training and workforce development in the National Health Service in England.

It is the responsibility of the professional regulators to set the standards and content for education and training and ensure newly qualified doctors, nurses, midwives, obstetricians and mental health professionals are equipped with the knowledge, skills and attitudes to provide high quality patient care. The General Medical Council and Nursing and Midwifery Council set standards for the education of doctors, nurses, midwives and health visitors respectively. The royal colleges also have responsibility for developing curricula for doctors, nurses and midwives.

The Mandate between the Government and NHS England includes a specific objective to reduce the incidence and impact of postnatal depression through earlier diagnosis, and better intervention and support.

Maternity services feature prominently in the key objectives set out in the Mandate between the Government and the NHS England. The Mandate states that women should receive better care during pregnancy and have a named midwife responsible for ensuring personalised, one-to-one care throughout pregnancy, childbirth and during the postnatal period.

Health Education England will ensure that training in perinatal mental health is available so that specialist staff will be available to every birthing unit by 2017.

In addition, by March 2015 HEE, working with the Royal College of Midwives, will develop a continuing professional education framework for the existing maternity and early years workforce so that all healthcare professionals who come into contact with women using maternity and postnatal services have access to training to optimise the care and treatment of women with perinatal mental health illness.