Arfon MS Siân Gwenllian has raised concerns in the Senedd over the care available for Welsh mums experiencing severe mental health problems following childbirth.

It comes as a new specialist mother and baby mental health hospital has opened in Chester with two beds ‘ringfenced’ for women from north Wales.

The £7.5m single storey, eight bed ‘Seren Lodge’ is the first of its kind across North Wales, Merseyside, and Cheshire, providing care for pregnant and postnatal women experiencing severe mental ill-health.

The MS is unhappy at the distances involved for families travelling from places like Aberdaron and Tywyn, and over guaranteed Welsh-medium provision in an English unit.

But Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board said the facility offered “compassionate care” closer than Birmingham and Manchester, where women travelled to before.

It also said it had offered “guidance” regarding the use and visibility of the Welsh language.

During a Senedd Plenary debate on 16 December, Mrs Gwenllian called for an explanation on how the unit could “realistically meet the needs of mothers in North Wales”.

Replying the Welsh Labour Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Trefnydd and Chief Whip, Jane Hutt, said: “And it is important. You’ve raised it in the Senedd, you’ve raised it with the Minister for Mental Health and Well-Being, Sarah Murphy, and also you’ve raised it, obviously, with Betsi Cadwaladr health board. I hope now that this will result in the responses that you need.

“This is an issue, of course, in terms of appropriate support and recognising the fact that the support should be also available as close to home as possible, but in terms of the Welsh language as well. So, you have raised it, and I’m sure now responses will be received.”

In an update from the Betsi, the Board said the facility was “thanks to a unique partnership between Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, BCUHB, Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust, NHS England and NHS Wales”.

Two beds had been specially “ring-fenced for use by women from North Wales” and the unit provided “compassionate care for pregnant and postnatal women experiencing severe mental ill-health problems”.

It was “purposefully designed” for those experiencing difficulties such as post-natal depression, psychosis or a relapse of an existing mental health condition.

Whilst only a small number of women will need admission to a specialist unit, the care will now be delivered “closer to home for women from North Wales”, the health board said.

Teresa Owen, Executive Director of Allied Health Professionals and Health Science, previously said: “Until now, women requiring admission to a Mother and Baby Unit have often had to travel long distances to services in England, including Manchester and Birmingham.

“For many families – particularly those in north-west Wales – this has presented a considerable challenge at an already vulnerable time.

“By providing care closer to home, the unit ensures mums can focus on recovery, whilst remaining connected to loved ones.”

The name ‘Seren Lodge’ was also chosen by mums to “signify hope and positivity” and as a “nod to the cross-border partnership with Wales, as ‘seren’ means ‘star’ in Welsh”.