Perinatal mental health service
The Community Perinatal Mental Health Service provides a single point of access to community perinatal mental health services for people resident in Richmond, Kingston, Sutton, Merton and Wandsworth.
We are a week-day only, 9-5 service.
The philosophy of the service is to, whenever possible, minimise disruption to family life.
We believe that the women who use our services should feel respected and staff strive to maintain privacy and dignity at all times.
We aim to work collaboratively and encourage mothers to be actively involved, whenever possible, in the development of their treatment plan.
Who is the service for?
Our team can assess and advise on the management of women who are in the perinatal period dealing with mental health problems, such as:
- bipolar disorder
- depression
- schizophrenia
- eating disorders
- OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder)
- anxiety disorders
- personality disorders
- Puerperal or postpartum psychosis.
Fax: 020 3513 4461
Email: ssg-tr.perinatalswlstg@nhs.net
What we offer
- Comprehensive psychiatric assessment and treatment (preconception, antenatally and postnatally).
- Advice on, and monitoring of, evidence based medication.
- Conjoint inpatient admission for women and their babies (under one year-old), for new mothers experiencing severe mental illness.
- Comprehensive, multidisciplinary inpatient assessment and treatment.
- Psychological assessment and evidence based psychological treatment and counselling for inpatient and outpatients.
- Time-limited, symptom-focused, psycho-educational group work and therapeutic groups for mothers with moderate mental health problems not requiring inpatient treatment.
- Occupational therapy assessment (inpatients only) and support including assessment and development of activities of daily living. Community nursing assessment and support.
- Facilitation of mother infant interaction through bonding interventions and nursery nurse support.
- Advice and support to other mental health services and social services.
- Engagement with local authority when there are issues of child protection, including attendance at child protection conferences.
Psychiatric emergencies should be referred should follow the usual emergency care route.
There is a duty person available everyday to answer any queries about referrals and to triage referrals that have been sent.
Who is in the team?
The team comprises of:
- consultant psychiatrists & trainee doctors
- nursery nurses,
- an occupational therapist,
- a social worker
- clinical psychologist,
- Perinatal mental health nurses,
- Administration staff.
How to refer
Referrals to the service should be directed to the Multi-disciplinary Team (MDT) which offers care and treatment to women experiencing:
- Antenatal and postnatal affective disorders including depression and bipolar affective disorder.
- Antenatal and postnatal anxiety disorders impacting on pregnancy and childbirth such as tokophobia, perinatal onset OCD and PTSD arising from childbirth.
- Severe and enduring mental illness in the perinatal period.
- Postpartum/puerperal psychosis.
- Mothers experiencing bonding disorders (infants under 1 year).
Telephone: 020 3513 6577
Fax: 020 3513 4461
Email: ssg-tr.perinatalswlstg@nhs.net