Source · Select Committees · Petitions Committee
Recommendation 2
2
Accepted
Paragraph: 14
Support for new families is concentrated in the early months of a child’s life, but...
Recommendation
Support for new families is concentrated in the early months of a child’s life, but for many families this crucial time fell wholly within the extended period of restrictions. Ensuring new parents can now urgently access comprehensive support—including catching up on support they have missed out on since the start of the pandemic— must be a priority for the Government.
Government Response Summary
The government accepted the need for urgent comprehensive support by announcing 26 new integrated maternity hubs, expanding specialist perinatal mental health services, ensuring GP postnatal checks, increasing Mother and Baby unit capacity, and committing £100 million for bespoke mental health support.
Paragraph Reference:
14
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
In April 2021 the NHS announced 26 new hubs that will bring together maternity services, reproductive health and psychological therapy under one roof as part of the NHS Long Term Plan. Around 6,000 women will receive care and treatment for a wide range of mental health issues from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after giving birth to others with a severe fear of childbirth. Five years ago, 40% of the country had no access to specialist perinatal mental health care. Now, there is a specialist community perinatal mental health service in every Clinical Commissioning Group area of England and over 30,000 women were seen in specialist perinatal mental health community services in 2019/20. GPs are required to offer a 6–8 week maternal postnatal health check for new mothers as an additional appointment to that for the baby. This should include a review of the mother’s mental health and wellbeing, in line with NICE guidance. NHS England and Improvement is expanding the capacity of inpatient Mother and Baby units. This will enable women to receive specialist inpatient care while remaining with their baby, allowing them to develop a bond with their baby and remain as close as possible to their families. The Chancellor also announced £100 million in the latest Spending Review for bespoke mental health support for new and expectant parents, with funding going towards staff Government Response: Impact of Covid-19 on new parents: one year on 3 training and interventions to strengthen and nurture the relationship between parent and child, which is critical to improving health outcomes for babies and the mental health of parents.