Welcomed by our Experts by Experience Group!
NES have collaborated with colleagues in perinatal services to produce a suite of seven e-learning modules covering “essential” knowledge for staff working in perinatal and infant mental health (PIMH), available here.https://player.vimeo.com/video/504875416?color=ffffff&title=0&byline=0&portrait=0
Perinatal and Infant Mental health resources from NES on Vimeo.
Our Experts by Experience Group welcomes wholeheartedly the introduction of these modules. Here are comments from two members of the group:
“What I find reassuring about them is that they have a very patient-centred approach. The focus on collaboration between patient and health professional is great, which of course is what all good health care should aim to be.” Anonymous
“All professionals in contact with mothers, fathers and babies during the perinatal should have a look at this material. It’s imperative that families have the confidence to know that professionals charged with their care have the specialist knowledge to support them.”Gill Skene, Experts by Experience Reference Group
In order to access the modules, you should create a free TURAS account. The modules contribute to the Scottish Government PIMH service development agenda and are intended to support the induction and CPD of staff working at enhanced and specialist levels as outlined in the PIMH curricular framework. Some of the modules may be useful for staff working at informed and skilled levels.
Overview of the modules
Risk: Our modules are designed for staff in both perinatal-specific and general services, as it is recognised all staff working in health and social care services will encounter women, girls, and families in the perinatal period and require to know the “red flags” and “amber flags” that signal preventative or immediate action must be taken.
Intro: Our “introduction to perinatal mental health” and “keeping baby in mind” modules provide an overview of the areas of perinatal and infant mental health as well as the pathways that have been developed for PIMH services and how to use them.
Stigma: Recent MBRRACE reports have added to our growing awareness of the inequality of outcomes for women and families who are BAME, including higher mortality and mental health morbidity rates. Social, cultural and personal ideas of motherhood can act as a barrier to women feeling able to share when they are struggling in this period. Our “stigma” module supports workers to work in a culturally competent way with families and has helpful resources to address the impact of stigma in the perinatal period.
Assessment: Mental health assessment in the perinatal period requires good liaison between services and inclusion of perinatal-specific information, such as a woman’s obstetric history. Our “assessment” module is comprehensive and includes a printable PDF of the important areas to cover in a mental health assessment during the perinatal period as well as useful toolkits (e.g. tokophobia toolkit).
Psychological, Pharmacological and Social Interventions: It has been identified that the perinatal period presents women with lots of difficult and confusing decisions with regard their mental health and options for intervention. We hope our two intervention modules (“interventions” and “pharmacological interventions”) help staff to confidently support women and families in choosing a pathway to recovery.
To discuss these modules or hear more about the development of the NES perinatal and infant mental health training plan, please contact Marie Claire Shankland (marie-claire.shankland@nes.scot.nhs.uk) and Leah Cronin (Leah.Cronin@nes.scot.nhs.uk).