14th September 2017
The Institute of Health Visiting (iHV) is delighted to receive national recognition for its Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Champions Training Programme in the first ever perinatal mental health awards, organised by the Maternal Mental Health Alliance (MMHA) and Mums and Babies in Mind (MABIM).
The iHV’s Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Champions Training Programme was highly commended in the Emma Cadywould Award for Perinatal Mental Health Education and Training 2017. The awards, which were announced on Wednesday 13 September at the first Annual UK Maternal Mental Health Alliance Conference at Imperial College, London, recognised best practice and achievement in the categories of perinatal mental health education and training, perinatal mental health awareness raising, peer support and transgenerational service.
Dr Cheryll Adams CBE, executive director of the Institute of Health Visiting, said:
“The Institute of Health Visiting is proud to receive this prestigious training award which was set up in the name of Emma Cadywould, who tragically lost her life whilst suffering severe postnatal depression.
“Our comprehensive, accredited training, which now reflects the national competencies for perinatal and infant mental health, has been developed over the past five years and consistently attracts wonderful evaluations.
“We have recently extended our training offers to be suitable for all professionals working with women with perinatal mental illness. This has been in response to many requests for multi-professional training from the health, local authority and voluntary sectors. Our current Champions Training ensures that all practitioners working alongside women and their families perinatally are equipped to provide evidence-based and confident support – as of June 2017, we have created over 140 Multi-agency Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Champions, as well as almost 900 health visitor Infant and Perinatal Mental Health Champions whose original training we know has been cascaded to upwards of 10,000 others.
“This award is a massive credit to the Institute’s team who have worked so hard to develop, refine, deliver and quality assure, and most recently to benchmark our training to the new national standards.”
The winners were presented with their awards by acclaimed author, journalist and psychotherapist Susie Orbach.
Dr Camilla Rosan, Programme Lead for Families, Children and Young People at the Mental Health Foundation, said:
“We had nearly 100 nominations from the public, private and charity sectors. We were looking for projects and services with a creative and innovative approach to perinatal mental health and we found some real heroes.
“Early intervention for maternal mental health can have a dramatic impact on outcomes for mothers, fathers, children and the wider community.
“Our winners and runners up are making a real difference to the mental health of women and their families, helping to break the cycle of intergenerational mental ill health.”
Find out more about the iHV’s Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Champions Training Programme
—-ENDS —-
For more information, please contact: Julie Cooper on 07508 344716 or [email protected]
Notes to editors
About the Institute of Health Visiting (iHV)
- The Institute of Health Visiting is a UK Centre of Excellence supporting the development of universally high-quality health visiting practice. It was launched on 28 November 2012 to promote excellence in health visiting practice to benefit all children, families and communities.
- The aim for the iHV is to raise standards in health visiting practice, so improving public health outcomes for all children, families and communities.
- For more information go to ihv.org.uk
- Follow the Institute of Health Visiting on Twitter @iHealthVisiting and Facebook
- https://www.facebook.com/iHealthVisiting
