Written question WQ88918
- Asked by
- Russell GeorgeConservative
- To be answered by
- Minister for Health and Social Services
- Tabled
- Due
- Answered
- Time to answer
- 6 days
Question
Given the progress of Wales’s specialist Perinatal Inpatient Mental Health Unit ‘Uned Gobaith’, can the Minister confirm why similar units are not being developed elsewhere in the country when, according to RCM Wales, suicide is now the leading cause of maternal death in the first year after birth?
Answer
Answered by Deputy Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing
In April 2021, we opened ‘Uned Gobaith’ in the Swansea Bay University Health Board area. This marked a significant step in providing improved perinatal mental health support for mothers in Wales and is improving the experience of new mothers as they can get the specialist support, they need for themselves and their babies closer to home.
As in the development of any service, it is important to review ongoing demand, and the Welsh Health Specialised Services Committee (WHSSC) undertook an initial review of the unit, and this is now available on their website. This concluded that we continue to support the current service, and to review on an ongoing basis. The scale of the service must be evidence based to meet the needs of the population and demand is assessed on an ongoing basis.
We are considering longer term capacity and demands which is being done in conjunction with the development of the longer-term successor to Together for Mental Health. Any additional provision will require a detailed options appraisal focussing on location, accessibility, clinical priorities, and ability to meet accepted Royal College of Psychiatry Standards for Mother and Baby Inpatient Units.
We have confirmed our intent to develop provision closer to home for those that live in North Wales.
Since 2015, we have invested in specialist perinatal mental health services across Wales. There are now services in every health board area in Wales and over £3m of mental health service improvement funding is supporting these services annually.