Perinatal mental health services

Abstract

The NHS West Midlands Workforce Deanery commissioned a project to explore perinatal mental health provision in three local primary care trusts. The project was prompted by the document Maternity Matters: Choice, Access and Continuity of Care in a Safe Service (Department of Health 2007). In July 2007, the newly formed NHS West Midlands produced a strategy Investing for Health that explained how the NHS in the West Midlands was planning for the future. The document highlighted the challenges faced by the service as it sought to meet the needs and rising expectations of the local population. The regional strategy states all women should have equal access to services, such as mental health (NHS West Midlands 2007). In response to the strategy, the Coventry and Warwickshire Maternity Matters network was formed in July 2007 to evaluate the provision of perinatal mental health services. Perinatal mental health service provision and the mental health of women are central to this directive.