- SERVICE PROVIDER
Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
This is an organisation that runs the health and social care services we inspect
On 28 September 2018, we published an easy-to-read version of our report on community learning disability services at Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.
Assessment report published 26 October 2026
Ratings - Perinatal services
Our view of the service
We carried out an unannounced inspection of the trust’s specialist perinatal mental health service between 22 and 24 September 2026.
The service registered with the CQC in 2010 and provides the following regulated activities:
Assessment or medical treatment for persons detained under the Mental Health Act 1983
Treatment of disease, disorder or injury
The service had a Nominated Individual.
We visited the following services as part of the assessment:
The Beeches mother and baby unit (MBU) – Specialist perinatal inpatient mental health service – 6 beds.
Specialist perinatal community mental health services (Derbyshire North and South).
At this assessment we assessed 1 assessment service group: Perinatal Services.
Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust are responsible for and provide specialist perinatal mental health services. The service consists of The Beeches perinatal inpatient mother and baby unit (MBU) on the trusts Kingsway Hospital site in Derby, and 2 perinatal Community Mental Health teams based in Derby and Chesterfield.
Derbyshire perinatal community mental health services provided specialist treatment and care in order to support women who experienced moderate to severe and complex mental health difficulties associated with pregnancy and the postnatal period. The service could be accessed by women who live in Derbyshire, were more than 12 weeks pregnant or had given birth within the last two years and were registered with a Derbyshire GP.
The Beeches was a self-contained inpatient perinatal mental health unit, providing specialist assessment and treatment for up to 6 women who are experiencing severe or complex mental health difficulties. Admission can take place from 32 weeks gestation to 1 year post birth.
Specialist community services were delivered from two bases which covered the north and south of Derbyshire and accepted referrals from 12 weeks of pregnancy up until 24 months post-partum. For those referred after the 18-month period, the service may only be able to offer an assessment and signposting to other relevant services.
We gathered information from patients and their loved ones, staff and managers, other stakeholders and our own observations of care. We reviewed a range of documents including care records, policies and procedures.
We looked at all 5 key questions, were services safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led, and assessed all 33 quality statements. We rated the service as good.
The service and its staff provided a safe, therapeutic, and personalised environment that promoted recovery and independence. Care was delivered to a high standard by skilled staff using a range of innovative interventions, including psychological therapies, occupational therapy, mother and baby support, and tailored therapeutic activities. Patients were supported to achieve their goals and develop greater independence.
Patients were treated with kindness, compassion, and respect, with care centred on their individual needs and preferences. Staff promoted dignity, choice, and independence, ensuring patients and their families were involved in decisions about care and treatment. Patients reported feeling listened to, valued, and supported to develop confidence, independence, and self-management skills. Leaders were visible, approachable, and supportive, fostering a positive culture of openness, learning, and continuous improvement. Staff felt valued and well supported to deliver high-quality, person-centred care.
However, risk assessment and safety planning processes were inconsistent. In addition, governance arrangements did not always ensure risks were identified, reviewed, or accurately documented. Following our onsite feedback, leaders developed and implemented an action plan to drive improvement which provided us with the necessary assurances. The action plan will support ongoing monitoring of progress, and service leaders will update us regularly regarding improvements made.
People's experience of this service
Throughout our assessment, we spoke with 10 patients and 4 family members. We received extremely positive feedback about the service in terms of the care the patients received, some of which are detailed below:
“The service and staff are just remarkable”.
“I honestly have no idea what me, my baby and our family would have done without their help”.
“There’s no doubt about it; this service and the staff have genuinely saved my life”.
“The care they have given to my daughter has been second to none. I was very involved too, and the staff also supported me with my needs throughout”.
“I honestly wish they would use the blueprint from this service for all the hospitals across the country. Staff made a very tough time a lot better for me”.
We reviewed feedback from patients on the service’s ‘friends and family test’ for all teams and found that from the beginning of September 2026 to the date of our assessment there had been 17 responses across the mother and baby unit and community services. Every team had received 100% positive feedback.
Comments included:
“You helped me get into recovery from postpartum psychosis, and I cannot thank the beeches derby (part of the Radbourne unit) enough.”
“The staff have been incredible in my recovery journey. Providing support when I need it and a listening ear. They offered many activities and the resources for the babies are perfect.”
“I received compassion and person-centred care throughout. I have always felt advocated for.”
“All of the professionals I have worked with from the team have been brilliant. They were all helpful, supportive, non-judgemental and understanding”.
“I have received so much support that has helped me through a really tough time. I am now in a much better place and have learnt coping mechanisms”.
“The sessions with the psychologist have been life changing as well as helping me reconnect with all my emotions when I numbed them to survive and care for three children”.
Staff were discreet, respectful, and responsive, providing timely support, advice, and emotional care. Patients consistently felt well supported, listened to, and that their views mattered.