We want to share an important update about PMH Borders and the support we are currently able to offer.
The current funding climate has meant that we have had to reduce our free service. We know this will be disappointing and worrying for some families and referrers, and we want to be very clear:
PMH Borders is not closing.
For more than 16 years, health visitors, midwives, GPs and other NHS health professionals across the Scottish Borders have referred parents to PMH Borders for specialist emotional and psychological support. Over the last three years, referrals to our service have more than doubled and continue to rise. In the last reporting year, over 12% of women who gave birth in the Scottish Borders were referred to us.
That level of need shows how important specialist perinatal mental health support is, and how much trust families and professionals place in PMH Borders.
Despite our proven track record, excellent parent feedback and endorsement from the NHS, many funders are now prioritising larger “one-stop-shop” models. This has made it much harder for smaller, specialist charities like ours to secure the funding needed to provide free counselling, psychotherapy and creche support.
Although we have had to pause some free provision, we will not give up on our mission to secure enough funding to provide free support for families who would otherwise be unable to access it. As soon as we are able to restore more free places, we will share an update.
In the meantime, PMH Borders continues to offer specialist support from East Lodge in Galashiels, with services currently open Tuesday to Thursday, 9am to 5pm.
Editor note: Add link to current services / self-referral page before publishing.