Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Programme Board: delivery plan - September 2021 to September 2022

Ministerial Foreword

As Minister for Mental Wellbeing and Social Care, I am delighted to present the 2021/22 Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Programme Board Delivery Plan, which sets out the next steps in an ambitious and compelling long term goal to not only develop and sustain perinatal and infant mental health services in the most challenging times, but also to ensure a systems approach to service development and delivery of these vital services.

This document builds on the strengths of the 2020/21 and 2019/20 delivery plans, and will place particular focus on establishing clear regional structures for the delivery of perinatal and infant mental health services to offer the right kind of support to those who need it, at the right time.

It will also continue to ensure that lived experience is at the heart of service development and ongoing provision. It is incredibly important to us that service provision is led by the needs of women, young children and families, building on good practice and learning from positive and negative experiences of current services.

The Women and Families Maternal Mental Health Pledge was developed by women with lived experience of perinatal mental illness alongside the Perinatal Mental Health Network Scotland. The Delivery Plan places this Pledge, and the eight asks within it, at the very heart of its commitments.

I am grateful to our statutory and third sector services for their continued passion and cooperation in delivering our strategic aims. With continued collaborative working, we can offer invaluable support for perinatal and infant mental health services across Scotland, to provide not only the best start in life for infants, but also to provide a lifeline to parents, carers and families when they may need it most.

Kevin Stewart

Minister for Mental Wellbeing and Social Care