Date published: 15 January 2026
Cheshire and Merseyside's Specialist Perinatal Service, run in partnership between Mersey Care and Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (CWP), has been named Psychiatric team of the year at the prestigious Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych) North West Awards 2025.
The service received the award for its outstanding work supporting parents, babies and families through pregnancy and the postnatal period. They support families across the region to access specialist advice about their mental health during the perinatal period (pregnancy to 24 months postnatal).
Trish Bennett, Mersey Care's Chief Executive Officer and CWP's Chief Executive Officer Tim Welch said: "We're 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 comes shortly after the opening of Seren Lodge, a £7.5 million, eight-bed specialist Mother and Baby Unit in Chester, which is designed to offer inpatient care closer to home for women across Cheshire, Merseyside and North Wales during pregnancy and following childbirth.
The RCPsych North West Awards celebrate excellence in mental health care and a spokesperson added: "Being named Psychiatric Team of the Year highlights the service’s commitment to compassion, innovation and partnership with families at the heart of care."