FAMILIES across Cheshire and Merseyside have even more reason to feel supported during pregnancy and early parenthood, as the Cheshire and Merseyside Specialist Perinatal Service has been named Psychiatric Team of the Year at the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych), North West Awards 2025.

The award recognises the outstanding work of the specialist service, delivered in partnership by Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (CWP) and Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust, supporting parents, babies and families through pregnancy and the postnatal period.

The team provides compassionate, evidence-based mental health care to families, ensuring the right support is available at the right time during what can be 1 of life’s most important – and sometimes most challenging – stages.

Joint statement from Trish Bennett, Chief Executive Officer of Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust, and Tim Welch, Chief Executive Officer of Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust:- “We are immensely proud of the Cheshire and Merseyside Specialist Perinatal Service. Their professionalism, compassion and innovation have transformed perinatal mental health care across our Region. Achieving Perinatal Quality Network (PQN) accreditation is testament to their relentless drive for excellence. By developing new therapeutic approaches, co-producing resources with Experts by Experience and championing inclusion, the team truly embodies the very best of NHS values. We wholeheartedly commend them on this achievement and are delighted to see them recognised as Team of the Year.”

The award recognition coincides with the recent opening of Seren Lodge, a £7.5 million, single-storey, 8-bed specialist Mother and Baby Unit in Chester. The unit provides compassionate inpatient care closer to home for pregnant and postnatal women experiencing severe mental ill-health across Cheshire, Merseyside and North Wales.

Alongside the team award, Prof Bhairavi Sapre was also named Psychiatrist of the Year at the RCPsych North West Awards.

Prof Sapre is Clinical Director for Perinatal Services at CWP, Joint Clinical Lead for the Cheshire and Merseyside Specialist Perinatal Service, and Consultant Psychiatrist and Professor of Armed Forces Mental Health at the University of Chester.

Her work spans perinatal mental health, workforce leadership, equality and inclusion, armed forces mental health, research, training and quality improvement. She played a key leadership role in achieving PQN accreditation for the service, chairs the regional Specialist Perinatal Quality Improvement Forum, and is instrumental in developing new pathways, training programmes and specialist services across the Region.

Prof Bhairavi Sapre said:- “This award reflects the dedication of our whole team, and the families who have helped shape our service. We are proud to champion inclusive, evidence-based care that is truly family-focused. Being named Team of the Year and Psychiatrist of the Year is both an honour and a motivation to continue driving improvements that make a real difference to parents and babies across our Region.”

The RCPsych North West Awards celebrate excellence in mental health care. Being named Psychiatric Team of the Year highlights the service’s commitment to compassion, innovation and partnership with families at the heart of care.