It is not recommended to engage in therapeutic interventions with different services at the same time, unless to address distinct or different difficulties. The reasons for this are that two therapies may conflict with one another as well as the potential extra demand this could place upon the individual undergoing treatment. Sometimes this could lead to increased distress or poor outcomes.

The Family Psychological Support Service can also support you with wider issues that may be outside your maternity experience for example with debt, housing, or employment issues.

We want to understand how families experience the support offered by the Family Psychological Support Service.  As part of your care you will be asked a few questions during and after using the service about whether the service has met your needs. This feedback will  help us to continually improve the service we provide to families.

To provide specialist and person centred psychological support for families who are part of the Independent Maternity Review into cases of potentially serious concern at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust.

When the service receives a referral from or for a person and/or family, an initial session is arranged for the person and/or family member/s. The session will last for around an hour and will usually be with a Wellbeing Navigator. It is hoped that this initial session will be a chance for the person and/or family member/s to tell the story of what they have been through in a safe and supportive context. The Wellbeing Navigator will ask to hear about what the person and/or family would like in terms of information about the service and how it can support the person and/or family member/s, for example by providing information on a range of different therapies available. This will enable the person and/ or family member/s to understand the choices available to them. The Wellbeing Navigator will ask the person and/ or family member/s if there are any initial areas of focus which they would like support with.

The Wellbeing Navigator will share the information the person and/or family has shared regarding area/s of focus with the clinical multidisciplinary team. The clinical multidisciplinary team will review this information and the referral information and determine the clinician to undertake an initial assessment with the person and/or family member/s. At this assessment the person and/or family will be offered meaningful choice about how their treatment will take place.

The service is designed to be flexible, and families will have a choice as to whether their session takes place face to face, online or via telephone. The service can offer home visits where needed. 

The service is for all families who are part of the Independent Maternity Review at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust.

Anyone within the family can access the service, including parents and carers, siblings (including those under 18 years), and other family members such as grandparents.

A dedicated team of Psychological Therapists with specialist expertise in working with families whose lives have been impacted by the distress and trauma of their maternity experiences. The service is provided by The Condition Management Company and is called the Family Psychological Support Service (FPSS).

Referrals can be made via professional or self-referral by calling 0115 200 1000 or via email enquiries@fpssnottingham.co.uk. The service also accepts direct referrals from the Independent Maternity Review Team, led by Donna Ockenden.