New care unit for nursing mothers

The unit will treat about 60 women every year

A specialist hospital unit which will allow mothers to care for their babies while they undergo psychiatric treatment has been opened.

Deputy Health Minister Rhona Brankin officially opened the £1.3m six-bed unit on the site of Glasgow's Southern General Hospital.

The unit has been hailed as the first of its kind in Scotland and will treat mothers with a range of conditions.

The Mother and Baby Mental Health Unit will have a team of 24 staff.

The unit will offer treatment for mothers with a range of conditions including postnatal depression and the more severe postnatal condition puerperal psychosis.

I hope this unit will serve as a model that can be replicated in other parts of Scotland Rhona Brankin, Deputy Health Minister

It will be staffed by psychiatrists, mental health nurses, nursery nurses, a health visitor and social worker and offer treatment to women from across the west of Scotland.

Karen Robertson, a nurse consultant in perinatal mental health at NHS Greater Glasgow, said: "Although the majority of women who experience perinatal mental illness will be able to be treated in the community, it is essential that the small number of women who require in-patient care receive it in an appropriate environment designed to meet their needs."

Ms Brankin said: "As the first tangible outcome of our new mental health legislation, I hope this unit will serve as a model that can be replicated in other parts of Scotland to give mothers the care they deserve and babies the best possible start in life."

It is expected that about 60 women will use the unit every year and they will be referred there for treatment by GPs and maternity care services.

It is estimated that about 10 to 15% of women suffer from depression during pregnancy or after childbirth.