Perinatal and infant mental health programme board/Infant mental health implementation and advisory group final report

Background

This document outlines the breadth of work overseen by the Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Programme Board/Infant Mental Health Implementation and Advisory Group to deliver on the following priorities:

• The recommendations outlined in Delivering Effective Services (DES) (2019)
• Work to establish services and increase awareness of Infant Mental Health
• Emerging priorities which have come about both as work progressed and in line with changes in the wider landscape

The Programme Board took, as a starting point, the 28 recommendations contained in DES and the commitment in the Programme for Government, but recognised that additional work was required, particularly with regard to infant mental health and third sector support.

For perinatal mental health, the Programme Board worked closely with NHS Boards to develop or expand mother and baby units, community perinatal mental health teams, and maternity and neonatal psychological interventions services. There was close liaison with clinicians and boards in the development of regional approaches to service provision. Other partners critical to the work of the Programme Board have included:

• Perinatal Mental Health Network Scotland, who developed the DES report and subsequent national care pathways, professional role definitions and service development guides
• NHS Education for Scotland, who wrote the Perinatal Mental Health Curricular Framework: a framework for maternal and infant mental health, and created and delivered a range of educational programmes aimed at universal and specialist services
• Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Scotland, a national charity who were funded to employ Participation Officers to support boards in taking a co-production approach to service development and provision
• Inspiring Scotland, who managed the Third Sector funds, produced a national directory of voluntary sector provision and hosted a number of events on behalf of the Programme Board
• Public Health Scotland, who have developed a research programme to evaluate the work of the Programme Board
• NHS Scotland National Planning, who have undertaken an Options Appraisal on the provision of inpatient mother and baby beds for Scotland
• NHS Scotland National Services Division, who provided programme management support
• Other collaborators with whom the Programme Board engaged on specific pieces of work included See Me and the Scottish Recovery Network

For infant mental health, Protecting Scotland’s Future: The Government’s Programme for Scotland 2019-20 committed to creating “a multi-agency model of infant mental health provision to meet the needs of families experiencing significant adversity, including infant developmental difficulties, parental substance misuse, domestic abuse and trauma.”

The Infant Mental Health Implementation and Advisory Group was subsequently set up as part of the Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Programme Board to develop a national model of infant mental health provision which can be put in place across Scotland. The model recognises that support for infant mental health is provided by families themselves, by universal services, by specialist services and in partner local authority, health and third sector teams (see figure).

An Infant Mental Health Evaluation subgroup, chaired by Professor Minnis, focussed on service development in 2 health boards and has published research about professional attitudes and structural factors influencing the clinical journey of infants and their parents.

Subsequently, specialist infant mental health services were established or expanded in a number of health boards.