The PANDAS Foundation is a UK-wide charity for families suffering prenatal/antenatal and postnatal mental health issues. The charity supports many parents, carers and their networks with support from free services, which are run by fully trained PANDAS volunteers (most of whom have themselves experienced a perinatal mental health issue, used the charity's services and recovered with support and advice). PANDAS supports parents from conception through to birth and beyond.
The charity's aim is to listen, understand, empathise, advise and signpost where appropriate. As the leading perinatal mental health charity operating in England, Scotland and Wales, with no waiting list and no cost to the service user, PANDAS is very much in demand. The services provided are crucial in bridging the gap while the NHS is under extreme pressure, with long waiting lists for treatments for mental health issues (Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2022).
The 2022 survey
In 2022, PANDAS (2022) supported more than 10 000 parents and carers in need. Demand for our services is now 70% higher than pre-pandemic levels (PANDAS, 2022). There are many reasons for this sharp increase, which were highlighted in the charity's recent work investigating NHS waiting times for parents and carers in their networks (PANDAS, 2022).
The analysis of over 1000 people who sought NHS support for pre- and postnatal mental health services showed that over a quarter (27%) felt that their concerns were not taken seriously. Four in 10 (43%) who were offered treatment said they had to wait too long to receive it, and 76% reported that their conditions worsened in that time, including intrusive thoughts (19%), anxiety (23%), being unable to bond with their child (7%) and suicidal thoughts (9%) (PANDAS, 2022). One in 10 said that their condition rendered them unable to leave the house.
Currently, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommendation is that referrals take no longer than 6 weeks (NHS England, 2023). However, the results of PANDAS (2022) survey showed that one in 5 (20%) people who first sought NHS support during 2020 and 2021 were still waiting to receive treatment.
It is clear that these outcomes occur because of the extreme pressure that the NHS is under, and PANDAS wants to acknowledge their respect and admiration for them, doing their very best under such trying circumstances. On a more positive note, PANDAS Foundation services are there to help tackle these serious issues. The charity is able to cope with demand and has no waiting lists.
Annie, the head of charity, said, ‘currently there is a dangerous lack of understanding and education around perinatal mental illness, and without this knowledge parents’ mental health can deteriorate rapidly, without an awareness of what is going on and why.
‘Lack of intervention early on means there is a growing risk that the mental health of new parents deteriorates and worsens. The survey for us has been clarification and confirmation that our services are absolutely vital. We are essential in bridging the gap created by pressures on the NHS’ (PANDAS, 2022).
PANDAS Foundation services
PANDAS is primarily an early intervention service. Early intervention is absolutely key to preventing more serious mental health conditions (NHS, 2022).
The charity has a number of different support services that are free to use, including a helpline (PANDAS, 2020a), email (PANDAS, 2020b) and WhatsApp group (PANDAS, 2020c) as well as online (PANDAS, 2020d) and offline (PANDAS, 2020e) support groups. PANDAS is proud to support all parents, including fathers, and have wonderful dad volunteers who run weekly support calls specifically for fathers and support the running of online support groups for fathers. This is of particular importance to the charity because the mental health of Dads is still sadly stigmatised and so often overlooked (Ruggeri, 2022).
PANDAS also offers education and awareness for businesses and organisations, including tailored speaker events, and an HR toolkit to upskill employers' knowledge of mental health through the maternal journey (PANDAS, 2020f).
PANDAS have recently expanded their offering of services and now provide an in-house WhatsApp support service for parents and carers who may be struggling. This service is really popular with those who need it because of its accessibility and style of contact. It is open every day between 8am and 10pm and, like all of the charity's services, is run by fully trained PANDAS volunteers. Once connected via WhatsApp, the volunteer will listen to anything that is troubling the parent/carer in need, provide support, empathy and advice, and signpost to services where appropriate. PANDAS is so proud to have added this service, which has become a lifeline for so many.