The First 1,000 Days: A renewed focus – UKCP’s response highlighting the importance of parental and child mental health

The first 1,000 days of life are critical for child development, shaping health, wellbeing and long-term life outcomes. In 2019, the Health and Social Care Committee examined this period of a child's life. Since then, there have been several significant policy developments. The new Health and Social Care Committee is now reviewing the progress made and assessing the effectiveness of current policies that aim to improve and equalise childhood outcomes and access to services.

UKCP has submitted a response to the Committee’s call for evidence on key barriers to early years services, inequalities in access and infant health outcomes. We’ve outlined the key funding priorities for perinatal mental health, reflecting our commitment to promote greater access to high-quality psychotherapy for everyone.

Our key funding asks

Dedicated funding to improve public mental health awareness, including clear and simple signposting to mental health services and an educational campaign to improve GP’s knowledge of perinatal mental health.

Ring-fenced funding for non-CBT therapy options in the NHS, ensuring service users have a choice of therapies.

Investment in specialist perinatal mental health services, especially for parents with regulatory and attachment disorders.

Increased funding for parent-infant psychotherapy (PIP) in the NHS for parents with severe mental health problems.

We have provided the Committee with evidence explaining why these funding asks should be prioritised. The following is a summary of the main points included in the key evidence section of our response.

Key barriers to early years services

Under-investment in prevention and early intervention means that perinatal mental health concerns often get worse before families receive support.

Expanding GP services and increasing GP training for perinatal mental health is important. GPs are often the first point of contact and can prevent the escalation of mental health concerns.

Treatment options must include access to non-CBT interventions, such as parent-infant psychotherapy and systemic and family therapy.

There are not enough non-CBT vacancies in the NHS to meet the demand for early intervention services. To address this gap, there must be increased financial support and more paid trainee positions for PIP therapists, along with establishing ‘top up’ NHS training for qualified therapists.

Inequalities in access and infant health outcomes

Many specialist local services have closed, contributing to a postcode lottery where families have unequal access to treatment.

Collaborating with local stakeholders and expanding training pathways to support people from diverse backgrounds to train in the NHS will help ensure that the workforce better reflects the communities it serves – ultimately improving care.

The cost-of-living crisis is increasing the number of people facing social and economic challenges. Accessible services that are embedded in communities are more vital than ever, to address the growing mental health crisis.