President, Professor Sue Bailey

President, Professor Sue Bailey New President

Professor Sue Bailey has started her three year term of office as our new President.

 

Sue is a Consultant Child & Adolescent Forensic Psychiatrist in the Forensic Adolescent Consultation & Treatment Services at Greater Manchester West Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust.

 

The focus of her clinical work and research has been assessing the needs and managing the risks presented by and to young people who enter the mental health, social care and youth justice systems nationally and internationally.  

 

Sue has been active in the work of the College for many years. From 2001 to 2005, Sue was chair of the Child and Adolescent Faculty, and from 2005-2010 she was Registrar, responsible for shaping mental health policy and working in partnership with service users and carers.

 

 

Priorities for the next three years

Sue said: “I am delighted to have been chosen to lead the Royal College of Psychiatrists over the next three years. My predecessor, Dinesh Bhugra, has worked hard to promote the role of psychiatrists as leaders in delivering quality services and ensuring the voice of psychiatrists is heard at the very highest level. This is something I aim to continue. In addition, having been a child and adolescent psychiatrist for 30 years, I hope to speak out for the needs of young people and families.

 

“It is vital that services for people with mental illness are not eroded during this period of economic restraint. We know that mental illness is associated with great risk of physical illness, and vice versa. Promoting mental health can bring great health, social and economic benefits across all sectors of society.”

 

Sue’s priorities are to:

 

  • Promote the importance of research into mental illness and learning disability, to improve the health of the nation.
  • Work with families to improve their mental health and emotional well-being.
  • Highlight inequalities in health and social care for vulnerable groups, including children and people with learning disabilities, patients in forensic settings, and those from diverse cultures.
  • Support services, treatment and choice for psychiatric patients across the lifespan in this time of economic uncertainty.

 

Sue succeeds Professor Dinesh Bhugra, who has been President since 2008. She will soon be posting regular updates about her work as our President on these pages.

 
© 2011 Royal College of Psychiatrists