Decision details

Proposed decision

That the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health approve the adoption and implementation of the Perinatal Mental Health and Parent Infant Relationships Strategy.

Reason

The requirement from the Department of Education (DfE) is to ‘establish a local perinatal and parent–infant mental health strategy (with sustainable plans beyond the funding period), to support strategic planning / delivery and joined-up working across the whole system.’

Background

The requirement to develop a co-created Perinatal mental health and parent infant relationships strategy has provided opportunity to bring stakeholders together from across the system, to raise awareness of perinatal mental health, parent infant relationships and identify where there are gaps in knowledge and in support.  The strategy has been made available for public consultation for a period of eight weeks February – April 2024.

How the proposed decision supports the Council’s Strategy 2022-26

This service contributes to ‘Priority 1: Levelling up Kent’ of the Framing Kent’s Future Our Council Strategy 2022-2026 as providing parents/mums the support in giving their babies the best start in life to improve the population’s health and narrowing health inequalities. 

Securing Kent’s future

The proposed decision aligns with Objective 3 of Securing Kent’s Future:Policy choices and scope of Council’s ambitions

As Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Public Health, I agree to:

a)    APPROVE the adoption of the co-created strategy in regard to low to moderate Perinatal Mental Health and Parent Infant Relationships as detailed in the report and

b)    DELEGATE authority to the Director of Public Health, to take other necessary actions, including but not limited to allocating resources, expenditure, and entering into contracts and other legal agreements, as required to implement the decision.