By Your Side - Referral information for healthcare professionals

By Your Side works with people who were pregnant and are experiencing moderate to severe mental health difficulties as a result of perinatal loss, including;

• Miscarriage (including recurrent/multiple miscarriages)
• Still birth
• Termination
• Neonatal death

Referral information

Who can be referred?

By Your Side is provided for those aged 18+ and accepts referrals for people registered to a GP in Essex.

At this stage, By Your Side can only provide support to the person who was pregnant. If your patient is in crisis, please call NHS 111 and select the option for mental health.

We recommend that referrals are made at least four weeks after the loss to allow the body and mind time to recover, and to enable us to offer support at the right stage in a person’s journey. We will accept referrals up to one year after the loss.

Please see the eligibility criteria for more information.

What constitutes a moderate to severe response?

Natural responses to trauma and loss can include grief, pain, sadness, loneliness, anger, guilt, helplessness, self-blaming, mood swings and low mood. However, if these symptoms persist or worsen and significantly impact; ability to function, day to day life, new parenting relationships and/or decisions around reproduction, pregnancy, and birth, people who were pregnant may require a higher level of support.

How do I make a referral?

By Your Side can be accessed by health or social care referral, from a qualified professional. This could include referral from a midwife, a GP, health visitor or social worker, another EPUT or mental health service and also mental health professionals working for charity organisations.

We kindly ask that you complete our paper referral form and attach it to your referral. Please send your referral form to epunft.byyourside-maternalmentalhealth@nhs.net. 

Where will the therapy be provided?

The service will offer a mix of video consultations, telephone appointments, face to face assessment and treatment in perinatal hubs and home visits, depending on the needs of the service user, as it is acknowledged that maternity and clinical spaces can be triggering for those who have experienced a loss.

Does the service provide a crisis response?

The service will not provide a crisis response. If anyone your patient is in crisis, please call NHS 111 and select the option for mental health.

Does the service offer care-planning or risk management?

The service does not have a psychiatric care planning or crisis intervention function. By Your Side works in partnership with adult mental health provisions and, where necessary, will refer patients to the appropriate adult mental health services for assessment and intervention to manage their safety and mental health risks. The obstetric risks will be held under the normal maternity and obstetrician governance and reporting structures. If a therapist feels medication should be discussed or reviewed to support the individual, they will support the person to make contact with their GP. Therapists will not be prescribing or monitoring an individual’s medical requirements.

My patient doesn’t meet the service criteria but needs support with a loss – how can they get help?

Please see a list of other professional support services.