Newham
Newham
House 15 Newham University Hospital, Glen Road, Plaistow, London E13 8SL
020 7363 8801
9am - 5pm, Monday to Friday
About Us
The Perinatal Mental Health Team provides specialist care for people with mental health problems who are pregnant or in the first post-partum year, or who are considering pregnancy.
The team hold outpatient clinics in a number of locations around the borough and provides a liaison service to the maternity wards at Newham General Hospital.
Inpatient beds are available at the Homerton Mother and Baby Unit. Home visits can be arranged in late pregnancy and the early postpartum period.
What we offer
We provide specialist outpatient and community care to people who are pregnant or in their first year after having a baby. We also provide one off pre-conception counselling to people who have a history of severe mental illness and who are considering having a baby.
Your first appointment with us will either be with our consultant psychiatrist, or a member of our team. This could be a Specialist Nurse, Social Worker, Occupational Therapist, or Nursery Nurse.
In certain cases before you give birth we will hold a pre-birth planning meeting with yourself and the other professionals involved in your care to discuss how you will be supported during and after your labour.
After pregnancy then depending on the level of need you may also have home visits with one of our nurses in addition to outpatient clinic appointments.
Update for Newham Residents
As a service we are pleased to announce that we are now offering assessments to partners and co-parents that may be struggling with their mental health. The assessment will be a one off appointment where we discuss any challenges and difficulties that you may be experiencing. We will then signpost and refer to any relevant services for any further treatment or resources that may be of interest.
If you feel this would be beneficial for your partner/co-parent, please discuss this with your current professional in the team or call the office on 0207 363 8801 and ask to speak to the duty worker.
How to Refer
You can make a self referral by filling in the online form or we do accept referrals from the following professionals:
- Health and social care professionals
- GPs
- Community psychiatrists
- Obstetricians
- Midwives
- Health visitors and social workers.
Confidentiality and consent
When you talk with a health professional in private you will expect that what is said remains confidential. This principle is central to trust between patients and their doctor or other health professionals. Details of your care and treatment, including anything you tell us, remains confidential and will only be shared within our multidisciplinary clinical team (which includes health and social care staff) if necessary.
All health professionals are bound by law and professional codes of conduct to this duty of confidentiality to their patients.
Making a Referral
If you live in the boroughs of Bedfordshire, City & Hackney, Newham or Tower Hamlets, and you are pregnant or have recently given birth and find you are suffering mentally or emotionally, please do not suffer alone.
You can fill in the Referral form by clicking on the link below and it will be sent to the team in your local area who will be in touch within 7 days.
If you are experiencing a mental health crisis or emergency and you or someone you know is in danger, you can contact our free phone Mental Health Crisis Support teams who are available 24/7, 365 days a year. Find the team where you live here>>
Peer Support Workers
Here at ELFT we are very lucky to have perinatal peer support workers as part of our team.
Our peer support workers are individuals with lived experience and have the accredited Royal College of Pyscharitity quailification, whilst also using their experience and empathy to help support a women’s wellbeing.
If you are supported by a Peer support worker, you will feel heard and understood as your sessions will be led by an individual with lived experience the approach is more holistic than medical.
Dad, 42, Newham
My wife and I attended pre-birth baby classes, I read several helpful books written by other dads and I spoke with friends about what to expect. And, yet, there were some things I still felt totally unprepared for and didn’t know how to handle.
In the months after the birth I could see my wife was struggling to bond with the baby, I could see she felt lost and helpless and I think we both felt out of our depth. We needed some help, if only in the form of kind words and reassurance. It can be hard to know what to do, where to turn and who to speak to. I didn’t feel like I could open up to friends and family, and I didn’t feel comfortable speaking to medical professionals as I worried that something may happen, that we would be considered a risk, that social services may put us on a list.
To have a resource where you can come for help, guidance or just to talk, is invaluable. It feels like Dads sometimes get left behind in the care process and it is comforting and reassuring to know others are feeling and experiencing the same issues. We need to talk about it and to know where to find help.
Get Involved
Find a collection of all the events that are being held within the Perinatal Team across East London and Luton & Bedfordshire.
Lara Roberts