Leeds Perinatal Mental Health Team wins Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Art Competition

A mosaic that was produced by patients and staff at Leeds and York NHS Partnership Foundation Trust’s (LYPFT) Perinatal Mental Health Service, (PMHS) based at The Mount Hospital, Leeds has won the prestigious Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCP) 2023 Art Competition.

The Mount Hospital works with women who are either pregnant or have an infant up to the age of two and require support with their mental health. The project was managed and organised by The Trust’s Occupational Therapist, Lindsay Lockwood.

The mosaic, which depicts a family of penguins and represents the family focussed assistance the Perinatal Service provides, came about following a generous donation from a family that had previously used the service. That allowed PMHS to work with Seagulls, a Leeds based environmental arts group.

Seagulls provided the materials, equipment, and board with the image pre-drawn and attended a group session to provide direction for the staff and patients. It took eight weeks to complete the whole mosaic.

The RCP’s Art Competition is open to every Mother and Baby Unit and Community Team across the UK. Entries were submitted and shortlisted to six of the highest quality. These were then voted on by the 200 members of the Perinatal Quality Network (PQN) members who attended the 2023 Annual Forum. The PQN is part of the Royal College of Psychiatrists and is one of the Networks which makes up the College Centre for Quality Improvement.

Ruby Lucas, PQN Deputy Programme Manager, Royal College of Psychiatrists’ College Centre for Quality Improvement said of the winning artwork:

“Amongst tough competition from submissions from many other perinatal services around the UK, practitioners voted for the mosaic as the winner, with voters praising the lovely picture which has incredible detail, impressive collaboration with a local art charity and themes of family in the piece. Supporting families is key to the work of the PQN, and we feel that the artwork reflects this in the way it was developed, and what it represents. We would like to thank everyone involved in the creation of this beautiful piece and are delighted to use it on all of our publications for the year ahead!”

The artwork will be displayed on all Peer Review and Accreditation Review Reports for the next year.

It is planned to display the Mosaic in pride of place in the entrance to the Mount Annex.