Buckinghamshire Perinatal Mental Health Service regional winners in NHS Parliamentary Awards

Ground-breaking team supporting women and families has made it to the finals of the prestigious NHS Parliamentary Awards.

Buckinghamshire Perinatal Mental Health Service regional winners in NHS Parliamentary Awards

Buckinghamshire Perinatal Mental Health Service has been named regional South East winner of the NHS Parliamentary Awards Excellence in Mental Health Care category.

And the team is now shortlisted for the national NHS Parliamentary Awards.

It comes as the trust’s digital consultation programme, which has now resulted in 100,000 digital consultations across the trust, was awarded a local NHS Parliamentary Award by Swindon MPs.

The Buckinghamshire Perinatal Mental Health Service is a specialist service providing assessment and treatment of women with complex and severe mental health problems during and after pregnancy. It launched in May 2019 and brings together Oxford Health and Buckinghamshire Mind professionals to provide wrap around care and support for mothers and their babies.

When patients were asked about their experience with the service in July all agreed or strongly agreed that staff gave them the right amount of support and care, staff listened to them and understood their problems and staff helped them understand their illness.  And 97 per cent said staff helped them be more confident caring for their baby.

One mother said: “This service is an absolute lifeline.

“I will always, always praise this service as my daughter is now nine months and I have been enjoying her in a way that I never did with my first. At 18 months I was still struggling due to late specialist intervention.

“I am so thankful that this service is here to support me and I hope all PMHT are as good as this throughout the UK.”

WATCH: Buckinghamshire Perinatal Mental Health Service learn they have won the award in their virtual team meeting.

Buckinghamshire Perinatal Mental Health Service works closely with other professionals, developing a treatment plan tailored to and in partnership with patients. The aim is to provide the right care to help them recover, encouraging family involvement and strengthening their bond with their child. Care is provided across Buckinghamshire to women in their own homes wherever possible, enabling them to maintain their roles as mothers while their mental illness is safely treated. The team  includes consultant psychiatrist, clinical psychologist, pharmacist, mental health nurses, social workers, occupational therapist, nursery nurses and a support worker.

The NHS Parliamentary Awards asked MPs across the country to find and nominate individuals and teams they thought had made the biggest improvements to health services in their constituencies across 10 categories.

Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust chief executive Nick Broughton said: “Since its launch Buckinghamshire Perinatal Mental Health Service has been able to help more and more mothers, babies and families during a really crucial period of their lives. Mothers tell us this support, care and treatment is life changing. This award and shortlisting is a real testament to all the hard work of the team.”

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Published: 23 November 2020