Sir, - I refer to the letter from Dr Peter Kirwan (June 5th), re hospital services for post natal depression. I was delighted to hear that all six of the consultant psychiatrists in Limerick provide 24hour call to the Limerick Maternity Hospital and that mothers who require inpatient treatment can be admitted to Limerick Regional Hospital with their babies.
His letter was a reply to an article on postnatal depression (June 1st), where I referred to the need for a national strategy to deal with the lack of appropriate treatment facilities in Ireland for this highly vulnerable group of women. Although the provision of the on-call psychiatrists he refers to would be part of such a strategy, I was referring to the need for much more comprehensive outpatient and liaison services. Each maternity hospital should have a consultant psychiatrist with a special interest and experience in this field who would provide routine antenatal screening clinics, an early post natal screening service while mothers are still in hospital, and outpatient clinics at the maternity hospital to treat mothers who are unwell.
With regards to the small number of mothers who will require admission, this should be to a mother and baby unit. Many people think that this is simply a facility where the mother and baby can be admitted together, but this is not the case. Such a unit should be a specialised unit where the needs of mother and child can be addressed, where specialist staff can monitor and address not just the mother's illness but also the relationship between the mother and child. A national strategy would also address the need for education of professionals and the public about this condition and the staff involved in these units would play a central role in this. These units would also be involved in much needed research on this subject. - Yours, etc., Dr Anthony McCarthy,
Consultant Psychiatrist,
National Maternity Hospital, Holles Street,
Dublin 2.