THE GREEN light has been given for a unit where new mothers with serious mental illnesses will be cared for without having to be separated from their babies.

Building work will start soon on a new Mother and Baby Unit (MBU) at Wonford House in Exeter, due to open in March after being given planning permission by Exeter City Council.

The unit will serve the whole of the South West, including West Devon. The Devon Partnership NHS Trust, which runs the mental health services at Wonford House, hopes to have the unit open in the spring of next year.

The unit will treat women with serious pre and postnatal mental illness, including the very serious condition of postpartum psychosis, in which a new mother suffers mania, hallucinations and delusions as well as depression. It can require months of inpatient treatment.

‘At the moment, there is nowhere in Devon and Cornwall where mum and baby can be admitted together, so women either have to go outside the area — often travelling very long distances — or have to be admitted to a general psychiatric ward, and separated from their newborn baby,’ said trust spokesman Peter Leggatt. ‘It’ll be a massive step forward in terms of local services.’

The three floor unit, which looks over a landscaped courtyard garden, will contain eight individual bedrooms, a shared bathroom, a nursery and nappy changing area and a milk kitchen. It will also have an open plan living, kitchen and dining area with a separate quiet lounge, and two multi-purpose activity rooms.

There will also be two apartments which can be used by dads and families for stay-over visits, which will also be available for mums and babies, giving them the opportunity to use them to live independently before being discharged. Outreach staff will be based on the lower ground floor of the building.

The unit will also have its own consultant psychiatrist, Dr Laurie Windsor.

‘I am really excited to be appointed as the consultant and be part of this new MBU and outreach team,’ he said. ‘We have a real opportunity to help women, babies and their families right across the South West. I have enjoyed meeting many of the new MBU team and can detect a real sense of passion as we move forward with the project.’