Oxford Health

Around 20% of women experience some degree of mental health difficulties in the period leading up to birth or afterwards.

The Infant-Parent Perinatal Service (IPPS) offers support to women who are experiencing, or who are at risk of experiencing moderate mental health difficulties such as:

• Parent-infant relationship difficulties
• Depression and low mood
• Anxiety and panic attacks
• Post traumatic stress disorder
• Obsessive compulsive disorder
• Eating disorders

Our service is made up of many different professionals, and includes two community psychiatric nurses, sessions with a consultant nurse and child psychotherapist (clinical lead), as well as psychotherapists.

All of our team are trained in video interaction guidance, an evidence based,  National Institute of Health and Care Excellence-recommended treatment for helping support the relationship between parents and babies.

We work closely with midwives and health visitors, as well as with GPs, mental health services, social services, obstetrics, children’s centres, addiction services, and charities.

We also offer training in primary mental health care for midwives, health visitors and other professional groups, and clinical supervision for designated professionals and local support groups offering support to women before and after the birth of their baby.

We work with professionals and agencies who have a need to know, or are otherwise involved with the child and their parents. We have a strong focus on working closely with other professionals, and  we work within the framework of national child safeguarding policies and the Oxfordshire Safeguarding Children Board’s local procedures.

If you are healthcare professional who needs information and advice, support or supervision, or needs to discuss a referral, call us on 01865 902171. We will respond to messages received before midday by the end of the same working day; otherwise the next working day.

We also offer specialist face-to-face consultation for midwives and health visitors. We accept referrals from any professional who has concerns about a mother’s mental health during the antenatal period and up to one year in the postnatal period.

If you are considering making a referral, do discuss this with the mother and obtain her consent.

Please note the following access arrangements:

• if an emergency assessment is required for a mother who has sudden onset of significant mental health difficulties (such as psychotic or actively suicidal symptoms) and she is already known to mental health services, please contact the Adult Mental Health Team (AMHT)
• if the mother is not known to mental health services, please request an emergency appointment with her GP, who may then refer to an Adult Mental Health Team (AMHT) within working hours; if your call is outside of working hours, please see the ‘In an emergency‘ page.
• if the mother is an inpatient at the John Radcliffe Hospital, an emergency referral to the emergency psychiatric liaison service at the John Radcliffe can be made directly
• if one of our patients needs community mental health services, we will facilitate a referral to an Adult Mental Health Team.

To refer a patient, please email our completed referral form to infant-parent.perinatalservice@oxfordhealth.nhs.uk

Address:Raglan House, 23 Between Towns Road, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX4 3LX

Phone: 01865 902171.

Email: infant-parent.perinatalservice@oxfordhealth.nhs.uk