Debate contribution: Mother-and-baby Unit
Debate contribution by Mr Alan Chambers on .
- MLA
- Mr Alan Chambers
- Party at the time
- Ulster Unionist Party
- Date
- 7 October 2025
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Private Members' Business
- Heading
- Mother-and-baby Unit
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5164609
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I welcome the opportunity to speak on this important topic and to once again place on record my party's strong support for the establishment of a regional mother-and-baby unit here in Northern Ireland. As the motion states, bringing a new life into the world should be among the most joyous and fulfilling experiences that a person can have, yet, for some women, that joy is reduced by the devastating impact of mental ill health. Poor mental health during pregnancy or after birth is not particularly rare and, thanks to the efforts of some people and organisations, there is now much greater awareness, but, for a small number, the symptoms are so acute that they require inpatient care. It is for those women and those families that a unit here in Northern Ireland would be so important. There is not an MLA in the Chamber who believes that giving new mums the impossible choice of either being admitted to a general mental health ward and separated from their baby or travelling much further afield to access specialist support is really the right or even humane thing to do. Either option is deeply distressing and compounds trauma at a time when those new mums are already fragile. That is why such a service cannot come a day too soon. To be fair, progress has been made, and it is right to acknowledge it. Under former Health Minister Robin Swann, the Department of Health delivered a regional perinatal mental health service. That was a major step forward that brought specialist community teams into each of our health and social care trusts. For the first time, we had a dedicated structure of expertise and care specifically for women who were experiencing perinatal mental health difficulties. That service is now well embedded, with professionals providing invaluable outreach and support across maternity and mental health settings. It represents a tangible, life-changing improvement. I pay tribute to former Minister Swann and the many clinicians, campaigners and families who championed that cause for years. Today, under the drive of the current Health Minister, that foundation is being built upon. He has made clear his determination to complete the journey to ensure that the regional service is complemented by an inpatient mother-and-baby unit that is capable of providing the highest level of care when community support is no longer sufficient. While I note the call for "interim measures" to be developed, which I would dearly wish to see if they were deliverable, in reality, the clinicians who are the experts in this field have already said that there is no way to do that. It is not just a case of repackaging a few beds or a ward and putting a new sign outside the front door. This is an incredibly complex and sensitive area of healthcare, and a wholly inadequate or wrongly located unit could even prove to be worse than no unit. In that regard, I will listen to the experts. We should keep an open mind on how to do things more swiftly, where it is safe and feasible to do so. That is why we have tabled amendment No 2, which asks for a rapid review of all options. The way that I see it, there are only two possible outcomes: ether a chance to do something different will emerge, or the assessment will tell the Minister to stay on the current track. Either option will not see time lost, but, crucially, might see some time gained. We have seen, in recent years, that progress is possible. Now, we must deliver this final but important step of a regional unit as quickly as we can, whilst always keeping the safety of mums and babies to the absolute fore.
628 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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