View a virtual tour of Jasmine Lodge, Mother and Baby Unit
Jasmine Lodge - our Mother and Baby Unit (MBU) is a specialist inpatient perinatal mental health unit for mothers and babies from 32 weeks of pregnancy up to one year after birth. It is a purpose-built unit which opened in May 2019 and has capacity for eight mums and their babies.
Jasmine Lodge includes an open-plan living/kitchen/dining area, activity rooms, baby-centred spaces, en-suite bedrooms, a purpose built office space, landscaped gardens and extra facilities for supporting families.
View a virtual tour of Jasmine Lodge.
Our team
Our team consists of a perinatal psychiatric consultant, occupational therapist, clinical psychologists, a ward manager, deputy managers and a team of experienced mental health nurses, social workers, support workers, peer support workers and nursery nurses who care for the mums and their babies during their recovery. The team is supported by an experienced admin team.
What we do
We work closely with the local perinatal and community services and the MBU Outreach Team to ensure mums and babies get consistent care before admission, during their stay and after discharge.
During their stay mums will have the opportunity to get involved in the following:
- Psychological therapies on an individual, couple or parent-infant basis.
- Mother-infant groups such as baby massage, sensory play or practical parenting.
- Support to work towards goals identified with our occupational therapist.
- Sessions with peer support workers.
- Activities including mindfulness, relaxation, arts and crafts, baking and community outings.
Mums have twice-weekly reviews to ensure we monitor how we are all working towards their goals before discharge.
We have worked successfully with a number of mums, babies and families and have received good feedback from the mums who had been admitted to the MBU.
How to refer to our service
Referrals to the MBU are made through the MBU Outreach Service by phoning the team on:
In office hours call 01392 539100 and ask to speak with the outreach duty practitioner. If unavailable please ask for the ward manager or deputy ward manager.
Out of hours call 01392 539100 and ask to speak to the nurse in charge.
Cornwall referrals
In office hours call the Cornwall Perinatal Mental Health Team on 01872 221031.
Out of hours call Jasmine Lodge on 01392 539100 and ask to speak to the nurse in charge.
Useful resources
- Follow the team on Twitter @DPT_Perinatal.
- Visit our Charitable Funds 'Little Something' Just Giving page.
- Find out more about the Best Use of Medicines in Pregnancy (BUMPS - external website)
- The Royal College of Midwives Pregnancy and Birth Information Hub app for women and families. (external website)
- Read about or download DadPad - an app aimed at supporting men to gain confidence, skills and support their mental health as they become dads.
Development
The development of Jasmine Lodge included involvement at all stages from women and families who had used the service, NHS trusts and other organisations from across Devon, Somerset and Cornwall to ensure the needs of families from those areas are taken into account at every stage.
Dr Jo Black, NHS England’s Associate National Clinical Director for Perinatal Mental Health, describes the difference the opening of a new Mother and Baby Unit in Devon has made to service users in the South West.
Jo (pictured above) experienced perinatal mental ill health following the birth of her daughter Summer. She was admitted to Florence House Mother and Baby Unit in Bournemouth, far from home and her family. After her recovery, she worked with our Perinatal Team to bid for a new MBU and identify what support new mums with mental health issues need.
Hospital Rooms
‘Not a Patient but a Person’ video follows Turner Prize nominated artist Mark Titchner in the creation of an artwork for Jasmine Lodge.
Through money generously donated to the Little Something Fund we were able to help support this arts initiative from the charity Hospital Rooms.
"The process that the charity goes through with the workshops and the care of the installations and the effort the artists put in, very much validated me as a human being or individual, with permission to need and want a nice environment and made me feel like I was not just a patient-but a person. It felt very inclusive, when sometimes suffering with mental illness can be very isolating." - Cat Lee
In this section
Resources
When I arrived at the Mother and Baby Unit I really didn’t believe I would or could get better and here I am, six weeks later, a completely different person, and that’s because of all the help and support you have all provided.