Calls for unit specialized in Northern Ireland

A new mother detained in a psychiatric hospital for five weeks says that she “felt like a prisoner” because she was separated from her baby.

Shelley Browne, who had a postpartum psychosis, was admitted in a mental health order after giving birth three years ago.

In Great Britain, mothers are taken care of in specialized mother and baby units, but women in Northern Ireland are admitted to general psychiatric services, separated from their babies.

The profitability analysis for a mother and baby unit is late for months, but the Ministry of Health (DOH) said it was well developed.

However, he also warned that a future unit depends on the identification of funding.

Shelley told BBC Spotlight that she felt “lonely” and “pathetic” after being deposited at the Porte du Psychiatrique de Ulster hospital without her daughter, but said that the staff had done their best.

“I went voluntarily and it was just the most lonely feeling in the world that has dropped off in a mental health room with a bag and no baby,” said the 35 -year -old man.

Each year, around 100 women in Northern Ireland are admitted to adult psychiatric districts for similar care, without their babies.

• Rare but serious mental health disease that can affect any mother

• Symptoms may include hallucinations, delusions, manic and weak moods, loss of inhibitions, agitation, behavior outside characteristic and confusion

• If it is not treated, the state can worsen quickly and lead to mothers to harm the baby, themselves or others

• The most serious symptoms generally last between two and 12 weeks, but recovery can take several months

SOURCE: NHS

“I was a mother without her child and I felt like a prisoner,” said Shelley.

“She was not with me, and I was in a mental establishment. And it just broke me every morning.”

Seven health ministers supported the idea of ​​a mother and baby unit in Northern Ireland, but funding has never been found.

Danielle Sands refused treatment in the hospital to stay with her first son, Joe, in 2022.

Instead, she relied on specialized community teams.

“They had clearly indicated that when I had there, I wouldn't have my Joe with me.”

“There were voices in my 24/7 head, and they were negative,” she said.

“Tell me everything I could not do, I was not good enough.”

Danielle and her partner, Nial, were supported by a nurse specializing in perinatal mental health.

The perinatal term covers the period of time from which a woman gets pregnant and up to a year after childbirth.

Each of the five health trusts in Northern Ireland receives more than 250 references for community services each year, but due to staff pressures, they can only accept 70 patients at a time.

Dr. Julie Anderson, president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Northern Ireland, believes that the number of women admitted to the hospital could double or triple if a mother and a baby was created.

“It's really, really frustrating to know that there is much better than our mothers should arrive here in Northern Ireland,” she said.

“And frankly, to be honest, somewhat embarrassing that we have been talking about it for almost 20 years and we are still not there yet.”

In 2018, Orith Quinn died at the Royal Jubilee Maître Hospital de Belfast.

The 33 -year -old man had given birth to his third child, a girl, less than 48 hours earlier.

Siobhan Graham said his daughter had started to show signs of postpartum psychosis shortly after childbirth.

“To enter and have a baby and return to a coffin, and you left three children without their mother, it is simply not a position that you think you will never find yourself in a million years,” she said.

The body of Orith was found in a part of the hospital which is not used at night. She had followed her life.

An investigation in 2022 concluded that the death of Oraith had been “predictable and avoidable“And that there were a number of missed opportunities in his care and treatment.

In a press release, the Belfast Health Trust said he would like to extend sincere apologies and not reserved for the Orith family.

He added that his maternity team would like to have the opportunity to meet the Orith family to apologize in person.

The trust said that it was determined to learn from the death of Oraith and had set up a training program to help staff recognize the wider spectrum of perinatal mental health problems and the risk of maternal suicide.

Coroner Maria Dougan equaled death to the absence of a mother and baby, noting that one should be established in Northern Ireland.

The Périnatal Consultant psychiatrist, Dr. Jo Black, from Coookstown, played a decisive role in the establishment of a mother and a baby in Devon.

An eight -bed unit, the layout and decoration of Jasmine Lodge mean that he does not feel clinical.

He has areas to visit families and a team of specialists.

She said it was “extraordinary” that there is no similar unit on the island of Ireland.

“All our proofs show us that maternal suicide remains a major killer in the maternity period,” she said.

“We cannot avoid this, and these units therefore save lives.”

Between 2021 and 2023, 34% of late maternal deaths were linked to mental health, according to a report of Mbrrace-Ukwhich includes Northern Ireland.

A late maternal death is when a woman died between six weeks and a year after pregnancy.

It is currently believed that more than 3,500 women develop a perinatal mental illness in Northern Ireland each year.

However, poor data collection could mean that the need for perinatal mental health services is underestimated, according to Dr. Julie Anderson.

Spotlight confirmed that the Ministry of Health had not yet implemented a Recommendation 2017 health regulator to improve data collection.

At the time, the regulation and the authority for improving quality (RQIA) said that patient coding should be improved.

The Ministry of Health said that an examination of coding practices for perinatal mental health conditions and admissions to the Related Hospital was planned.

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