Senior Social Worker, Perinatal Mental Health

The Hospital is inviting applications for the following post:

Senior Perinatal Mental Health Social Worker- Permanent, Full-Time

Intended applicants should submit an updated Curriculum Vitae by 12noon on Friday 19th September 2025.

Full job description can be found attached.

Details of Service

Specialist perinatal mental health services are vital because of the potential detrimental impact of perinatal mental health disorders for the mother, the baby, their relationship and that with the partner and other children. The specific circumstances of pregnancy, birth and early mother/infant bonding requires staff who are knowledgeable, skilled, sensitive and experienced in this area. Hence the philosophy underpinning this model of care is its focus on:

(i) The mother

(ii) The baby

(iii) Their relationship – all within the context of the family

The model is informed by national and international epidemiological evidence of need. In 2016, there were approximately 64,000 births in Ireland. Approximately 2,240 women are likely to have suffered from more serious mental illness and so would likely benefit from advice from or referral to a specialist perinatal mental health service.

Support for all other services involved with women in the perinatal period by the Specialist Perinatal Mental Health Service is an important part of the role. This includes clinical advice, training and education. The Model of Care is based on the maternity networks recommended in the National Maternity Strategy. This means the specialist perinatal mental health services will be aligned to hospital groups and developed in a hub and spoke format so all 19 maternity services are included in the model. In each hospital group, the maternity service with the highest number of deliveries will be the hub. These are:

• RCSI Hospital Group (HG) – Rotunda Hospital

• Dublin Midlands HG – Coombe Hospital

• Ireland East HG – National Maternity Hospital

• Saolta HG – Galway University Hospital

• South/Southwest HG – Cork University Maternity Hospital

• University of Limerick HG – University Maternity Hospital Limerick

Each hub has a specialist perinatal mental health service. Its staffing is multidisciplinary and led by a Consultant Psychiatrist in perinatal psychiatry. Each specialist team will include a Senior Perinatal Mental Health Social Worker.

Overall job role:

The primary purpose of this Senior Perinatal Mental Health Social Worker (SPMHSW) post is to provide a recovery orientated, client centred social work service to women attending the Specialist Perinatal Mental Health Service.

The SPMHSW will work as part of a multidisciplinary team delivering a co-ordinated approach to client care. The SPMHSW brings a systemic perspective to assessments and interventions on a multidisciplinary team emphasising the importance of assessing the person in their environment, assessing and providing expertise where the social aspects are factors impacting on the service user’s mental health and on her family. The SPMHSW emphasises the importance of Family Focused Practice and their psychosocial assessments and therapeutic interventions focuses not only on mother’s individual mental health needs, but on the mother-infant relationship, the Partner/Supporter and the broader family and community system.

The Senior Perinatal Mental Health Social Worker (SPMHSW) is a member of the hub-based specialist Perinatal Mental Health team for the hospital group. A key function is close working with multidisciplinary colleagues in other hubs to ensure a seamless service is provided for women and their families.