South West Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Network

The South West Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Network (SWPIMH) works with and alongside the Maternity Clinical Network (SWMCN) to bring together stakeholders from across the South West region to support each other in improving the overall safety and quality of perinatal and maternity services while improving women’s experience.  This is so that all mothers, babies and their significant others receive the right care in the right place at the right time, no matter what their circumstances are or where they live.

The area that the SWPIMH Network covers includes the two South West Mother and Baby Units and the six Local Maternity Systems that are aligned to the six Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships (STP) footprints in the South West. These are:

• Bath, Swindon and Wiltshire
• Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire
• Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly
• Gloucestershire
• Somerset
• Devon

South West Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Expert Clinical Reference Group

The purpose of the Expert Reference Group is to provide a forum that bring together clinical and operational expertise to collaborate, influence and inform how the implementation of the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health and the NHS England Long Term Plan. It also seeks to ensure holistic embedding of consideration of maternal and infant mental health within the National Maternity Transformation Programme (Better Births) and how services can best be seamlessly and effectively improved within the South West region.

The aim of the Expert Reference Group is to work collaboratively to champion, promote and support the development and efficacy of both specialist and community Perinatal Services to support transformational change through sharing knowledge, expertise and learning.

Core membership of the South West PIMH Expert Reference Group will comprise of:

• Service leads/clinicians from each Specialist Community Perinatal Mental Health service
• Perinatal Leads/Champions from Maternity and Mental Health Services (e.g. Lead obstetricians/specialist midwives).
• Mangers/clinicians from the two Mother and Baby Units
• Infant Mental Health Leads
• Other relevant clinical/professional representatives from both Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Services
• Perinatal Leads from Maternity Voices Partnerships/Lived Experience representatives
• Health Visiting Leads from across the South West
• Representatives from Children’s IAPT services
• South West Clinical Network Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Clinical Lead
• South West Clinical Network Perinatal and Infant Mental Health programme Manager
• South West Clinical Mental Health Network representative
• South West Maternity Network representative
• Relevant Voluntary Sector representatives
• Public Health England representative/s
• Health Education England representative/s
• Higher Education representative/s

The group meets five times a year in Taunton.

South West Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Steering Group

The purpose of the SWPIMH steering group is to provide leadership and support to the six Sustainable Transformation Partnerships (STPs), CCGs and Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Providers in the South West to foster collaboration and ensure the delivery of the recommendations to influence and inform how the implementation of the elements of the Mental Health Taskforce that relate to perinatal and infant mental health and the achievement of NHS England’s 2017/18 deliverables. It also seeks to ensure holistic embedding of consideration of maternal and infant mental health within the delivery of the recommendations of the National Maternity Review Report, ‘Better Births’ and the National Maternity Transformation Programme. The desired outcome is to achieve consistency in the delivery of effective, safe, high quality, person centred services across the South West.

The aim of the Steering Group is to support local Perinatal and Infant Mental Health leads to transform services through providing a forum which brings together the Perinatal and Infant Mental Health clinical and commissioning decision makers from each STP area in the South West. The forum offers an opportunity to:

• access advice and encouragement for the implementation of national initiatives, including access to stakeholders with limited capacity to engage locally
• share and learn about both local and national best practice and to work collaboratively to facilitate cross boundary working
• reduce duplication and overcome challenges that can best be addressed at scale

Core membership of the South West Maternity Clinical Network LMS Steering Group will comprise of:

• South West Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Network Clinical Lead
• South West Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Network Programme Manager
• South West Maternity Clinical Network Manager
• Lead commissioner for Perinatal Mental Health from each CCG in South West
• Perinatal Mental Health Lead for each STP in South West (if different from the above).
• Perinatal Lead from each LMS in the South West.
• Infant Mental Health representative from each STP in the South West.
• South West Health Visiting Leads
• South West Mental Health Network representative
• NHS England South Perinatal Programme Lead for Specialist Commissioning
• Ops & Delivery Representatives for Mental Health NHS England (South Region).
• Health Education England representative/s from the South West
• Public Health England representative/s from the South West
• Maternity Voices Partnership PIMH Champions

The group meets five times a year in Taunton.