December 2011

Professor Sue Bailey answers questions sent in to Dr Andrew Macauley by members of the College and Mental Health TV.  

The Registrar, Dr Laurence Mynors-Wallis, recently recorded a podcast with Dr Chrissy Boardman, Deputy Editor of the eNewsletter. He talks about issues for the profession, the role of the consultant psychiatrist, and his work as Registrar.   

Results of last month’s poll:

• Should the press have increased access to Mental Health Tribunals? 34% agreed vs. 66% disagreed.

This month's poll:

We would like your views on the following:

• Do you think too many psychiatrists are being referred to the General Medical Council and National Clinical Assessment Service? (see ‘Record number of complaints and disciplinary hearings against doctors’)

Appointment of a Specialist Adviser for the Psychiatrists’ Support Service

The Psychiatrists’ Support Service (a confidential telephone advice and support service) receives a significant number of contacts. It has involvement with the General Medical Council and the National Clinical Assessment Service. A vacancy has arisen to lead and develop this important service within the College. The post is voluntary and the time commitment involved is approximately one session per week. The term of office is for a maximum of 5 years, and the post will commence in February 2012. The job description can be downloaded. Deadline for applications: Monday 9 January 2012 and interviews at the College Headquarters in London on Wednesday 22 February 2012. Contact the Psychiatrists’ Support Service Manager or tel: 0207 245 0412 for a discussion about the role.

Podcast Editor

We are looking for someone to produce a regular series of high-quality podcasts for the College and CPD Online websites. The successful candidate will be expected to identify subjects of interest, commission podcasts, and liaise with both interviewers and interviewees. There is also the option to conduct some podcast interviews personally. It is likely that the Podcast Editor will need to devote about one or two sessions per month to this work, not including attendance at committee meetings. Supervision and training will be provided. The term of office will be one year initially. For a job description, contact Sophie Worth. Closing date: 23 December 2011.

Examination Paper Writing Panels – Senior Trainee vacancies

The College wishes to appoint Senior Trainees (SpR in at least 2^nd year of training or ST5-6) to join the Examination Paper Writing Panels. A maximum of two Senior Trainee panel members will be appointed per panel. The MRCPsych Examinations consists of three written papers (Paper 1, 2 & 3) and a Clinical Assessment of Skills and Competencies (CASC) examination. Paper 3 is divided between two separate panels, responsible for the Critical Review and Clinical Topics components respectively. The panels are responsible for producing questions for the examinations question bank, from which questions are selected for the examination papers. The panels meet after the examination to review statistics. An application form and associated documents can be obtained from Dawn Marshall-Fannon. The closing date: 17 February 2012, with interviews in April 2012

Psychiatrists have been asked to complete audit forms for their patients. The Audit Team would like to thank those clinicians who have taken part. If you know your Trust’s unique Trust ID for NAS, you can monitor progress on the NAS Trust returns web page. To find out more  please visit NAS or contact the NAS Team. Tel: 020 7977 4982.

SNP Conference

In October we attended the SNP Annual Conference in Inverness and hosted a joint Fringe event with the Samaritans, Scotland on Economic strain and suicide risk in Scotland– Explaining the Links, chaired by the Minister for Public Health, Michael Matheson MSP.

Mental Health Strategy for Scotland 2011-2015

The Scottish Government is currently consulting on a mental health strategy for the next four years. Any member wishing to comment on the strategy can do so to Karen Addie by 24 January 2011.

Alcohol (Minimum Pricing)(Scotland) Bill

The Scottish Parliament’s Health and Sport Committee has called for written evidence, seeking views on the general principles of the Alcohol (Minimum Pricing) (Scotland) Bill introduced by the Scottish Government on 31 October 2011. The evidence received will inform the Committee’s consideration of the Bill at Stage 1. Members wishing to submit comments on this can do so before 1 December 2011 to Karen Addie.

Other consultation documents

RCPsych recently responded to the Call for Evidence on the Scrutiny of the Scottish Spending Review 2011 and Draft Budget 2012-13. We also responded to the Equal Opportunities Committee who was doing some work on Women Offenders.

Professor George Ikkos, formerly Hon. Treasurer, has been elected first Chair of the newly established Hellenic Psychiatric Association UK Division. Officers include:

• Honorary Secretary Dr Dimitris Paschos

• Academic Secretary Dr Eleni Palazidou

• Trainee Lead Dr Nikos Christodoulou.

Membership of the UK Division is open to all Specialists and Trainees in Psychiatry registered in the UK and interested in Hellenic Psychiatry, irrespective of ethnic origin. Study trips to Greece, Cyprus and other centres of Hellenic Medicine in the Future are being discussed. The programme of forthcoming academic activities:

• Focus on Bipolar Disorder, London 1 March 2012, confirmed speakers  include Professor Nick Craddock, Cardiff University and Hon. Treasurer of the College.

• A joint meeting with the Hellenic Medical Society UK on "No Health without Mental Health" in 2012 is under consideration.

• Psychiatry and Emotion: Neuroscience, History and Culture, 14 March 2013, with the Royal Society of Medicine Section of Psychiatry and Professor Angelos Chaniotis, Institute of Advanced Studies, Princeton University; confirmed speakers include Professor Randolph Nesse, University of Michigan on Evolution and Psychiatry.

For further information contact Professor George Ikkos or Dr Dimitris Paschos.

Welfare Reform & Health and Social Care Bill

New Health and Social Care Journals available to members

The Library has recently subscribed to five new health and social care journals, including British Journal of Forensic Practise and Mental Health & Social Inclusion. You can view the full list of journals here. To receive the electronic table of contents for these or any other library journals in our collection, please notify us in the Library.

Mental health organisations welcome announcement of depression incentives for GP’s

“We are delighted to learn that the Quality and Outcomes Framework will continue to include indicators for depression in 2012,” according to the leaders of 10 leading mental health organisations, including the College. Commenting on the changes to the quality and outcomes framework, effective from 1 April 2012, the organisations said, “Mental health problems – primarily depressive and anxiety disorders - account for almost one GP consultation in four and 23% of the burden of illness in the UK. Many people with mental health problems already struggle to get the treatment they need and this decision retains an important incentive for family doctors to manage the care of millions of patients with common mental health problems.”  

New standards for psychological support for people living with HIV

The first UK standards for psychological support for people living with HIV have been  published  by the British Psychological Society, the British HIV Association, and the Medical Foundation for AIDS & Sexual Health and will help ensure access to consistent and high quality psychological support across the country for all people who live with HIV. These have been endorsed by the College’s Liaison Psychiatry Faculty.  

New College Report

CR169: Substance Misuse Detainees in Police Custody: Guidelines for Clinical Management (4th edition)