FPSS Leeds to Support NHS Maternity Review

Launching FPSS Leeds: Independent Psychological Support for Families Affected by the Maternity Review at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

We recognise that for many families, involvement in a maternity review process can reopen painful memories, intensify unanswered questions, and bring emotional strain.

The Condition Management Company has been commissioned by Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust to provide the Family Psychological Support Service (FPSS) Leeds. This is an independent, clinically led service designed to support families affected by the Trust’s maternity review.

While commissioned by the Trust, FPSS Leeds operates as a clinically independent service. We are separate from both the Trust and the review process itself. Our role is not investigatory, advisory, or decision-making. Our sole purpose is to provide safe, confidential psychological support to families throughout the review.

Why Dedicated Psychological Support Matters

For many parents and families, traumatic maternity experiences do not end when clinical care finishes. The emotional impact can persist for months or years, sometimes emerging in new ways over time.

Participation in a review process may:

• Reawaken grief or trauma responses

• Trigger anxiety around meetings, statements, or documentation

• Impact relationships, intimacy, and family dynamics

• Intensify feelings of anger, guilt, or uncertainty

• Affect siblings or partners differently and at different times

Not every emotional response requires clinical treatment. However, some experiences benefit from structured psychological support, particularly where trauma symptoms, persistent distress, or relationship strain are present.

FPSS Leeds is designed to offer proportionate, personalised care, ranging from wellbeing support to structured trauma-focused therapy.

Who Can Access FPSS Leeds?

The service is available to families who are part of the peri-natal mortality review.

Eligible individuals include:

• Parents

• Guardians

• Siblings

Extended family members, such as grandparents, are able to access wellbeing support.

Those who would like support can access the service through:

• Self-referral (contacting FPSS Leeds via email or telephone)

• Referral from the review team

Referrals will be accepted until the end of August 2026 (at the time of writing).

What Support Is Available?

FPSS Leeds provides individual and couples-focused support, tailored to individual needs following a structured clinical assessment.

Support options include:

• Psychological wellbeing support

• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

• Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR)

• Integrative therapy

• Psychosexual therapy

• Couples therapy

• Internal Family Systems (IFS) informed therapy

We also offer practical psychological support around the review process itself. This may include:

• Preparing emotionally for review meetings

• Support following receipt of reports or findings

• Managing anxiety related to participation

• Developing coping strategies around key dates or milestones

Our clinicians are experienced in working with complex maternity trauma, bereavement, attachment disruption, and the relational impact of perinatal loss or harm.

A condition or trauma response is something someone experiences, it is not who they are. With the right support, many trauma-related symptoms can be understood and managed in a way that restores steadiness and confidence.

Our Experience in Maternity Review Contexts

The Condition Management Company previously delivered FPSS Nottingham in support of the Ockenden Maternity Review.

Through this work, our clinicians developed extensive experience supporting individuals and families navigating:

• Complex grief and loss

• Trauma responses linked to maternity care

• Re-engagement with medical records and investigations

• The emotional impact of public review processes

• Relationship strain following traumatic birth experiences

We understand that review processes are not purely procedural events. They are deeply personal for the families involved. Psychological support must therefore be flexible, responsive, and grounded in trauma-informed practice and delivered with compassion.

Our experience enables us to mobilise services quickly, scale according to demand, and adapt support to the evolving needs of families throughout the lifespan of a review.

Independence and Confidentiality

FPSS Leeds is clinically independent from both Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and the review team.

This means:

• Clinical sessions are confidential.

• Information is not shared with the Trust or review team without explicit consent.

• Participation in FPSS has no impact on involvement in the review.

• Families can access support regardless of how they choose to engage with the review process.

Our role is not to influence outcomes, but to ensure families have access to appropriate psychological care while navigating what can be a demanding and emotionally complex process.

A Structured, Compassionate Approach

At The Condition Management Company, we combine clinical rigour with human understanding.

Our approach is:

• Assessment-led

• Evidence-based

• Trauma-informed

• Flexible to individual need

• Delivered by experienced, accredited clinicians

We do not over-medicalise normal grief. Nor do we minimise when symptoms indicate a need for structured treatment. Support is proportionate and purposeful, whether that involves short-term wellbeing input or more focused trauma therapy.

Where couples support is appropriate, we work to strengthen communication, rebuild safety, and address the relational impact that traumatic maternity experiences can have.

Moving Forward with Care

There is no “right” way to feel during or after involvement in a review process. Reactions may shift over time. Some family members may want immediate support; others may not feel ready until later.

FPSS Leeds exists to ensure that when support is needed, it is available, accessible, and clinically appropriate.

We are proud to bring our experience, independence, and specialist knowledge in maternity trauma to families in Leeds. Our priority is to create a space that feels steady, respectful, and safe, where experiences can be explored without judgement and with professional care.

For Stakeholders and Organisations

The Condition Management Company has significant experience designing and delivering Family Psychological Support Services within complex review and inquiry contexts. Our model is adaptable, responsive, and scalable to need. If you would like to know more about the specialist psychological services we offer, please get in touch to learn how we can help.