West of Scotland Mother and Baby Unit

The Mother and Baby Unit (MBU) admits women who are experiencing severe mental illness in the later stages of pregnancy or if their baby is under 12 months old.  The six bedded unit enables mothers to be supported in caring for their baby whilst having care and treatment for a range of mental illnesses including:

• postnatal depression
• postpartum psychosis
• severe anxiety disorders
• eating disorders

Maintaining this contact is critical to the wellbeing of both mother and baby as it not only aids the mother’s recovery but also strengthens the mother-infant relationship and infant development.

We offer a wide range of medical, psychological and psychosocial interventions to women from across the West of Scotland. The unit is staffed by a multi-disciplinary team of professionals including:

• psychiatrists
• mental health nurses
• nursery nurses
• social worker
• psychologist
• health visitor
• nursing assistants
• parent-infant therapist
• peer support workers
• administrators
• input from other professionals where needed

Our YouTube video may help give you an idea of what to expect if you are admitted to the Mother and Baby Unit.

The MBU is located at Leverndale Hospital in Glasgow and can accommodate up to six mothers with their babies.

Our staff are specially trained to support you through your recovery and to help you in caring for your new baby. Any decisions about admission and treatment will be discussed with you and, where appropriate, with your family.

The unit tries, as much as possible, to maintain a homely atmosphere within the context of a hospital setting. You will be allocated a single room for you and your baby. You will also have access to a range of facilities including:

• a communal TV lounge and dining room
• laundry facilities
• bathroom and shower rooms
• kitchen and baby food preparation facilities
• family sitting room
• group activity room
• garden area with seating

For your baby

There are certain things you may need to bring including:

• child health record
• baby formula if bottle feeding
• any creams or medication that your baby requires
• nappies
• clothing for your baby including an outdoor jacket
• bibs
• baby wipes if you prefer to use them
• toiletries
• favourite small toys
• pram

We will supply other equipment such as a cot, high chair, bath, bouncy chair, steriliser, bottle warmer and toys.

For yourself

• day time clothing
• outdoor jacket
• nightwear
• a note of medication you are prescribed including dose and timings of when you take them
• if breast feeding, breast pads and nipple shields if you use them
• sanitary towels
• toiletries
• loose change for pay phone

You should not bring:

• valuables, jewellery or large amounts of money
• credit cards
• Any items made of glass for safety reasons
• Alcohol or illicit drugs
• any drugs or medication that have not been prescribed.

The hospital does not accept any responsibility for loss of, or damage to, personal belongings unless handed in to staff for safekeeping and a receipt obtained.

When you arrive

A member of staff will meet you and show you to your room and explain the layout of the unit. They will be happy to answer any questions you may have. Staff will advise you of the usual routine within the unit and provide you with any equipment you may need for your baby during your stay. For safety reasons we will check through your belongings with you to ensure there are no sharp objects or medication which may have been brought into the unit.

Please tell staff if you:

• Have had recent illnesses such as a fever, diarrhoea, vomiting or any rashes or spots.
• Need help with your mobility and need any specialist equipment
• Have any problems with your eyesight, speech, hearing or any other disabilities
• Have any problems with swallowing or dietary requirements
• Have an Advanced Statement which outlines your preferred choices regarding your care.

Care and treatment

Our focus is to help you get better as soon as possible and develop a healthy and safe relationship with your baby. We can help in a variety of ways and your care and treatment is provided by staff with extensive experience and expertise.

On admission, you will be informed of your Named Nurse and Named Nursery Nurse who will jointly develop a care plan that will meet your needs and provide any support you might need with your baby. You will also meet with a psychiatrist who will work with you to make a management plan during your admission. As part of your assessment, and with your permission, we will usually ask to meet with your partner and/or other family member.

Staff from our Multidisciplinary Team (described in the next section) will be available to assist you and your family with support in relation to finances, housing and family based issues. Staff will be available throughout your stay to discuss your treatment, progress and plans for discharge. The team will meet on a weekly basis to review your care.

Common treatments may include medication, talking therapies, group therapies and working with you and your baby together. There is a programme of therapeutic activities on the unit and your mental health and nursery nurses will plan individual and group activities with you.

A small number of patients are admitted to the unit under compulsory provisions of the Mental Health Act. If this is the case, staff will explain your rights under the Act and help you, if you wish, to appeal against your detention. Staff will also help you contact an independent advocacy service that can support you in putting across your views on your care and treatment.

The Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT)

The care you receive in hospital will be provided by a group of professionals with different skills and expertise called the multi-disciplinary team (MDT). They work together to provide a package of care and treatment that is appropriate for you. You may not personally meet all the members of this team but they will contribute to discussions about the most appropriate treatment package for you.

The members of a MDT commonly include:

• Doctors – A Consultant Psychiatrist will be responsible for aspects of your care whilst you are in hospital. Other ward doctors may be involved in your everyday care.
• Nurses – you will meet various members of nursing staff who are there to coordinate and meet your individual needs on the ward.
• Nursery Nurses
• Health care assistants- HCA’s support the work of the qualified nurses to provide care and support for you during your stay on ward.
• Psychologists
• Social Worker
• Pharmacists – advise on medication information and management
• Occupational Therapists- OT’s are able to assess your ability to live your life in the way you want. They also ensure that you have the skills to function and maintain yourself in your home either with support or on your own.
• Recreational Therapy
• Patient Activity Co-ordinators
• Other Allied Health Professions – Art Therapy, Physiotherapy, Dietetics, Speech and Language Therapy and Podiatry.

The structured therapeutic activities within the ward are considered to be an integral component of your care and treatment and will be discussed with you during your admission. A timetable of meaningful activity is available on the ward.

Your baby’s needs

Within the first few days you will be introduced to the team GP and health visitor. They will discuss with you any medical care your baby might need during your stay, or any advice and support you might want in relation to your baby’s wellbeing and development. The GP will also ask your permission to carry out a routine physical examination of your baby. Our health visitor will be available to monitor your baby’s development and administer any immunisations your baby might require during your stay. They will also keep in touch with your baby’s own GP and health visitor.

We all have a responsibility to ensure that the needs of your baby are always given priority. You will continue to have responsibility as a parent to ensure that your baby is kept safe and to help them grow and develop. Our staff will assess how you are able to care for your baby and offer support and guidance if required.

Depending on how your illness affects you, our staff may support and guide you in meeting your baby’s needs. If we have concerns that there are particular problems in caring for your baby, this will be discussed with you and, where relevant, your partner, about how the needs of your baby can be best met.

Sometimes staff may seek help for you and your baby from social services if we feel you need extra support or where there are concerns that your baby’s needs are not being met. On rare occasions it may be in your baby’s best interests to be cared for out with the hospital setting whilst you are recovering from your illness.

Booklets explaining parental responsibilities and rights are available from staff.

Meals

The hospital will give you a menu for choosing your meals. For more information please see the booklet ‘Information about Food and Health in Hospitals’ which is available in the ward. Halal, Kosher, Vegan and Allergen free meals are available on request. There are also meals available for those on specific medication regimes.

Patient Laundry

There are laundry facilities within the ward as we are a regional unit. Wherever possible, we do encourage relatives to take laundry for washing as per the Health Protection Scotland leaflet ‘Washing clothes at home: information for people in hospital or care homes and their relatives’. Please ask your nurse for a copy.

Student Teaching

Leverndale Hospital is a teaching hospital; an important part of our work is clinical teaching and training of students in medical, nursing and other professions. You have the right to decide whether or not you wish to take part in student teaching.

The MBU adheres to the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde guidance to reduce the risk of cot death (Sudden Unexplained Death in Infants)

This includes bed-sharing, smoking, alcohol/drugs and sleep pods/positioners.

Whilst we recognise parents may make decisions about how they manage sleep practices for their baby at home, the MBU must take the necessary steps to ensure the best guidance is followed for the safety of your baby in hospital and we are unable to allow any practices that goes against this.

Our specialist staff are happy to work with you during your admission to help adapt any sleep practices.

If you feel this may be a barrier to your admission, please discuss this further with the clinician arranging your admission.

Mobile phones should only be used for outgoing calls. They should be switched off or in silent mode at other times to avoid disruption to your programme of care, and to other patients and their babies.

To protect patients’ privacy, camera phones must not be used to take photographs or recordings in any part of the hospital.

Due to the possible effects of medication and severe mental illness, we do not allow mothers to drive whilst admitted to the MBU.

You must tell the DVLA if you have a driving licence and develop a ‘notifiable’ medical condition/disability or your condition has got worse.

The DVLA website provides more information on:

• Telling the DVLA about medical conditions
• ‘Notifiable’ medical conditions

Leverndale Hospital is a smoke-free hospital.

This means you are NOT allowed to smoke in any NHS building, entrance, doorway, grounds or car park.

Visitors to the hospital are NOT permitted to smoke anywhere within the hospital grounds. 

Trying to stop smoking is one of the most important steps you can take for your own physical health. If you are coming into hospital and would like to stop smoking whilst an in-patient, please speak to nursing staff about the ‘Inpatient Smoking Cessation Service’. Nicotine Replacement Therapy will be offered to all smokers on admission.

We operate a ‘zero tolerance’ approach towards alcohol and illicit drugs within all of our facilities. If service users or visitors are found to be in possession of, using or supplying these substances on any of our premises, the police will automatically be informed. This could result in discharge, visitors being banned and criminal charges being brought.

Your visitors are welcome to come to the unit but we would ask that they telephone the ward beforehand to notify staff of their intention to visit. The numbers of visitors may be limited as it is difficult to accommodate a large number at one time. We would appreciate your co-operation with the following:

• When visitors arrive at the unit they will be asked who they have come to see. This helps us ensure no unwanted visitors can come onto the unit.
• Where appropriate, and with your permission, we are happy for your partner or family member to approach staff during visits to discuss your care.
• We appreciate that your visitors may have a long distance to travel. Wherever possible, we will try to be flexible in relation to visiting but ask that they visit between 2.00-4.00pm and 6.00-8.00pm in order not to interfere with your treatment programme. However, we can usually allow partners to visit for longer periods.
• To ensure minimum disruption to other patients and babies in the unit, visitors are not permitted in the communal lounge and dining area. You may sit with your visitors in the garden area, your bedroom or the family room.
• Children are welcome but an adult must accompany any children who visit you in the unit and are responsible for supervising them at all times.
• Animals are not allowed within the hospital, except for assistance dogs i.e. guide dogs and hearing dogs.
• Mobile phones can only be used within the visiting area. To protect patients’ privacy, camera phones must not be used to take photographs or recordings in any part of the hospital.
• Food (hot/cold) and refreshments are available for visitors from Cafe Connect and Restaurant, both located at Leverndale Hospital

Families may have to travel some distance when visiting the unit. If your partner or other family members would like information regarding overnight accommodation in Glasgow, please ask them to speak to a member of staff. Assistance with travel costs may be available from your local Social Work Department. We can help you contact them if necessary.

If you would like to discuss any spiritual needs or see someone from your own faith, please ask to speak to the healthcare chaplain. They can speak with you or find someone of your own faith for you to talk to. You don’t have to be religious or to belong to any particular faith to talk to the chaplain;

Ms Anne MacDonald DCS, Leverndale Hospital, 510 Crookston Road, Glasgow G53 7TU. Telephone: 0141 211 6695

If you have any particular needs concerning your faith or beliefs, please make these known to a member of staff.

Our service aims to provide care that meets your physical, psychological, spiritual, cultural and social needs. Here are some of the ways in which the hospital might meet your individual needs:

• Providing an interpreting service for patients whose first language is not English

• Providing a sign language interpreter for patients who are Deaf, Partially Sighted or Blind

• Offering food which meets your religious and cultural requirements

• Help in arranging visits from your church or faith community

At any time during your stay in hospital you may ask for any of these services by speaking to the nursing staff.

There are a number of Money Advice Services. These services can:

• Help you identify benefits you are entitled to
• Help you fill out benefit forms
• Help to support you in benefit appeals
• Deal with creditors on your behalf
• Look at options to have accounts put on hold
• Help you to keep track of what you spend
• Provide legal assistance.

Please approach a member of staff for information on this service

After your admission, we will start to plan with you arrangements for your discharge home. This helps to avoid any unnecessary delays to your discharge. We will liaise regularly with the relevant health and social care teams to plan any ongoing care and treatment that you may require after discharge.

Preparation for your discharge will be made according to your individual need. To help you adjust to being home again, you may have periods of leave from the unit. This usually begins with a few hours out and can be increased to one or more days and nights out at a time.

When you eventually return home, we will arrange for you to be seen by a psychiatrist or community psychiatric nurse (CPN) and, where appropriate, a social worker. If you live in the Glasgow area, this is likely to be a member of staff from the Perinatal Mental Health Service Community Team. We will also contact your GP and health visitor, and any other services involved in your care to let them know about the plans for your ongoing care and treatment. For those living out with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde we will work closely with your local services to ensure you have safe and effective follow-up.

If you are prescribed medication you will receive a seven day supply before you leave the unit. You should make an appointment with your GP as soon as possible after discharge to obtain further prescriptions for your medication.

When you talk with a health professional in private you will expect that what is said remains confidential. This principle is central to trust between patients and their doctor or other health professionals. Details of your care and treatment, including anything you tell us, remain confidential and will only be shared within our multidisciplinary clinical team (which includes health and social care staff).

All health professionals are bound by law and professional codes of conduct to this duty of confidentiality to their patients.

We will ask for your consent before sharing any information with friends, family members and carers.

Once you have been discharged, we will write to your GP, health visitor, obstetrician, midwife and social worker (if you have one).

Occasionally there may be serious concerns for your safety or for the safety of others. In these circumstances we have a responsibility to discuss relevant information with other agencies, including social services, who can offer help, support and protection.

In most cases, you have the right to access you health records. You can discuss this with your doctor or named nurse. You can also do this by writing to the Medical Records Manager, Leverndale Hospital, 510 Crookston Road, Glasgow, G53 7TU.

Independent advocacy helps you to make your voice stronger and to have as much control as possible over your life.

Independent advocacy workers are separate from services. They do not work for hospitals, social work or other services. This might be useful if you feel you need support to speak up, to understand what is being said and to make decisions. Many people find that when they feel ill or upset they are not as good at saying what they want and they need support to speak up.

Please ask a member of staff for further details.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde takes extremely seriously the health, safety and welfare of all its employees, patients and visitors. It believes that violence and/or aggression towards staff and others is unacceptable.

Staff have a right to be able to perform their duties without fear of abuse or violent acts from patients or members of the public. No member of staff should consider violence or aggression to be an acceptable part of their employment.

In cases of incidents involving violence and aggression against members of staff, encouragement and support will be given to the individual involved to enable them to pursue the incident through reporting it to the Police.

If you are unhappy with any aspect of the service, please talk to a member of the team who will investigate the issues that you have raised and get back to you.

Alternatively you may wish to contact the MBU Ward manager.

If the issue cannot be resolved and you wish to make a formal complaint, staff will provide you with information outlining the process.

We also welcome positive feedback.

A carer is someone who looks after a partner, relative or friend who cannot manage without help because of illness, frailty or disability. They may or may not live together.

If you would benefit from support in your caring role, local carers services can help. They can provide you with help and support regarding a number of issues including access to respite, short breaks, information and advice on a wide range of topics, emotional support and access to carers support groups.

To find information about your local carers service anywhere in Scotland please contact

The Carers Information Line

Telephone: 0141 353 6504

Email: info@glasgowcarersinformation.org.uk

If you want to find out how to travel to the hospital please call Traveline on 0871 200 22 33 or see www.travelinescotland.com

Our ward staff are happy to suggest convenient accommodation options near to the hospital. Call 0141 211 6539.

Visit Scotland has a number of hotels, B&Bs, hostels, guest houses and self-catering options.

If your partner or someone you care for is in a Mother and Baby Unit (MBU), you are entitled to financial help with travel, meal costs and accommodation.