New Mental Health Service For New Mothers

New community mental health services have been introduced for pregnant woman and new mothers, the Department of Health has announced.

In line with commitments made by the former Health Minister, all five health trusts in Northern Ireland now have community perinatal mental health teams in place. The teams offer support and interventions to women through their pregnancy and up until one year after birth, thereby improving the health and wellbeing of women, their children and their wider families.

The Department has also confirmed that Belfast City Hospital has been identified as the location for a new regional Mother and Baby unit.

Outlining the next steps, Department of Health Permanent Secretary Peter May said: "I am delighted with the progress that has been achieved on implementing the community perinatal mental health service across the region over the last 12 months and to see the commitment each team has given to making the service a success.

"The Belfast Trust will now begin to prepare a business case for the proposed regional unit on the Belfast City Hospital site. While this is a very positive step, the reality is that we are operating in a very challenging financial situation. For this reason, timescales for delivery of the unit are dependent on being able to identify the funding required to build and run the new facility."