Seren Lodge: first north Wales mums treated at new £7.5m Chester unit
Two mothers from north Wales have received in-patient perinatal mental health care at a new unit in Chester, the Minister for Mental Health and Well-being told MSs on Wednesday.
Sarah Murphy gave evidence to the Children, Young People and Education Committee in the final ministerial scrutiny session of the current Senedd term.
“I’m really proud to say that we are now able to provide in-patient care for mothers from north Wales much closer to their homes,” Ms Murphy said.
The Seren Lodge unit opened earlier this year on the Chester campus of Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.
The £7.5 million, eight-bedded unit serves women from Cheshire, Merseyside and north Wales experiencing severe mental ill-health during pregnancy or in the months after giving birth. Its name was chosen by mothers with lived experience of maternal mental health difficulties. In Welsh, “seren” means “star.”
The unit was commissioned jointly by the Welsh Government and NHS England. Ms Murphy confirmed two beds have been allocated for Welsh patients, with capacity for more if required.
The unit had already seen its first north Wales patients, Ms Murphy said. “Two mothers in north Wales have already received care at the unit. We have not needed to expand that.”
Cefin Campbell MS (Plaid Cymru, Mid and West Wales) asked Ms Murphy to set out the long-term future of Uned Gobaith, the existing north Wales facility, alongside the new Chester arrangement.
Ms Murphy said Uned Gobaith was always intended as an interim solution, and that she had commissioned an independent report from the Joint Commissioning Committee and the Royal College of Psychiatrists into what provision Wales would need going forward.
Her own view, she said, was that expanding Uned Gobaith’s out-of-hours capacity and rapid response capability would be the first step, rather than adding beds. “We don’t really want mums and babies needing to go into in-patient units if they don’t need to…” she said.
Ms Murphy said she had not been able to visit Seren Lodge in person due to her pregnancy, but said she had been assured it is a well-equipped facility. She confirmed she will begin maternity leave before the end of the current Senedd term.
On the longer-term picture for perinatal mental health infrastructure across Wales, Ms Murphy said capital had been a persistent constraint.
“My personal belief is that we need a 10, 20-year mental health estate strategy,” she said. “That would obviously then include the perinatal mental health.”
Ms Murphy also confirmed that Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board has strengthened its community mental health teams alongside the new Chester provision.
She said the emphasis remains on keeping mothers in their communities wherever possible, with in-patient care as a last resort.
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