President's Update: December 2009
My
second year as President has been as busy as ever. In July of this
year, I had the honour of being elected as Vice-chair for Education
and Training by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges (AoMRC). In
this capacity, I represent the Academy on NHS Medical Education
England, the advisory body set up in response to recommendations
from the independent inquiry into Modernising Medical Careers
(MMC). It provides independent expert advice on training and
education for doctors, dentists, health care scientists and
pharmacists.
I also co-chair the Medical Programme Board with Dr Patricia
Hamilton, Past-President of the Royal College of Paediatrics and
Child Health and Director of Medical Education at the Department of
Health. The Board oversees and makes recommendations to Ministers
for the MMC programme in England. It also provides leadership to
the professions and the service for the design, testing and
implementation of the MMC programme and is accountable for changes
made.
I am now chair of the AoMRC’s
Education Committee which ensures that trainees can move easily
across specialities and that they have common competencies with
general practice, paediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology,
medicine and psychiatry. The Committee is setting up
an inter-collegiate web-based forum to further enable discussion on
the link between physical health and mental health.
The College, together with the Royal
Colleges of General Practitioners and Physicians, has recently
appointed a researcher funded by the Health Foundation to look at
the quality of prescribing in old age nursing homes. She will start
early in the new year.
Earlier this autumn, I travelled to Boston for
a study tour with other members of the Royal Medical Colleges to
the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI). This trip was
organised by Health Foundation to look at patient safety and
quality of services.
In October, I was delighted to be invited to
the first international conference of The College of Psychiatry of
Ireland to speak on professionalism and ethics. On behalf of
the College I was honoured to present the new College with a
medal
to commemorate their independence. The President of Ireland,
Mary McAleese, was the guest speaker at the conference and spoke
about the recession and its effects on people’s mental health a
matter of concern in the UK as well.
In September, along with London School of
Economics and NHS Confederation, we had a one-day meeting with
other professions to look at the impact of economic downturn on
mental health services. As a result, a new scoping group on
service redesign has been established and its findings will be
launched at the Annual Meeting in June. Chaired by John Bowis
OBE, the membership of the Scoping Group will include a NHS Chief
Executive, Steve Shrubb from the NHS Confederation, as well as
representatives from the College’s Inter-collaborative group.
Priorities for 2010
A number of new initiatives are planned for
the new year. A major 2-day event is scheduled at the College next
April with representation from 22 European organisations which will
look at new ways and areas of effective collaborative working
across Europe.
A new College report on the Role of the
Consultant Psychiatrist is to be published in January. This
report aims to define the role of the consultant psychiatrist
within the multidisciplinary team, and sets out the unique
contributions which are brought to patient care, team leadership
and service development. This will be followed by a document on
Psychiatry’s Contract with Society.
New Horizons, the government’s
strategy towards improving the quality and provision of mental
health services for the ten years was recently launched.
The
College is now tasked in taking forward a number of
recommendations, particularly in relation to early intervention and
transitions.
I hope to recharge my batteries over the
Christmas period and continue to take forward the agreed priorities
and policies which members have tasked me with.
My seasonal and festive greetings to
you all and your families. A big thank you to all those who have
helped me form my views and be proactive in a number of areas and I
am grateful to the College staff for making things
happen.