The Five Year Forward View for Mental Health states that by 2020/21 there will be increased access to specialist perinatal mental health support in all areas of England, in the community or in-patient mother and baby units, allowing at least an additional 30,000 women each year to receive evidence-based treatment, closer to home, when they need it.

East Midlands Mental Health Clinical Network is facilitating local systems across the East Midlands to improve perinatal mental health services in line with national targets, which includes improving access to local Community Perinatal Mental Health Services, and Mother and Baby Units in Nottingham and Derby, coordination of services across primary care, maternity and mental health, and improving early identification and treatment of women at high risk of developing a perinatal mental illness.

The network support offer includes:

• Overseeing the delivery of an education and training for programme for perinatal mental health services, midwives, obstetricians, psychiatrists and GPs
• Supporting CCGs and STPs to develop proposals for Wave 1 and Wave 2 Community Services Development Funding to improve community perinatal mental health services
• Work with commissioners and providers to plan services in readiness for the new national evidence-based treatment pathways

For more information regarding the Perinatal Mental Health work programme please contact: Dr Ian Rothera, Network Senior Quality Improvement Manager.