RCPsych in Scotland
What's new
Please following this
link to see the full briefing paper
‘see me’s latest campaign was launched this
week. The campaign urges Scots to get talking about mental
ill-health and to listen to what is said. Support makes all
the difference.
In independent polling last year, 40% of Scots
said that they wouldn’t know how to ask about mental
ill-health. Their main concerns were:
- How to raise the subject – “What Should I Say?”
- What to do if the conversation doesn’t go well
- Where to access further help and advice. “Who Else Can
Help?”
We all need to know how to talk about mental
ill-health – and we all need to know how to listen.
More detailed information about how to talk
about mental ill-health can be found on the website www.seemescotland.org/justlisten.
They will be reaching out to Scots around the country through
TV,
radio
and outdoor advertising, bus sides and internal panels, inserts in
the press, and local community-focused adverts. They
are also reaching out into communities and asking local
champions and social media contacts to help spread the word.
The campaign runs from the 2nd April through
to the end of June.
Further information about the campaign,
including TV
ad times are available on the website. If you are a
Facebook user, then please like and join in
the discussion about the importance of being heard. You can
also follow ‘see
me’ on Twitter @seemescotland and join in
their competition.
RCPG guide to Social Media for doctors and health
professionals
Royal College of GPs has launched their Social Media Highway
Code. It is a practical guide aimed at doctors and other
healthcare professionals who use social media, and is produced in
partnership with Doctors.net.uk
RCPsych offers free CPD in response to fee surplus
The Royal College of Psychiatrists is making its online
resources for continuing professional development (CPD) free for
trainees, in response to concerns that it made £600 000 profit from
membership examination fees in 2011. For more information see
BMJ Careers
International Congress - Scottish Trainee Volunteers
The College is looking for volunteers to help out at the
International Congress this year which will be held from 2-5 July
at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre. You would
need to be available to attend for the whole registration period
and be at the venue from 7.30am . In turn, the College is offering
complimentary registration for that day (or for however many days
you can help out) but travel and accommodation expenses would not
be covered. Please follow the
link for further details on the Congress.
If you or any of your colleagues are interested then please
email David Williams, Head of
Operations.
Guidance on Assisted Suicide
This guidance is for our decision makers to
use when they are considering allegations that a doctor has been
involved in encouraging or assisting suicide.
This is an important and highly sensitive issue. Encouraging or
assisting suicide remains a criminal offence and our guidance
reflects the law.
The guidance sets out:
·
the ethical principles which underpin all our guidance to
doctors
·
the test that our decision-makers must apply when they consider
such allegations
·
examples of the types of case that could arise and the factors that
may be relevant in reaching a decision.
The guidance for decision makers is available to read on the
website
When a patient seeks advice or information about assistance to
die
When we consulted on the guidance for
decision-makers last year, a number of doctors asked us how they
should respond to patients who asked for advice or help in ending
their lives.
We have therefore produced a document for doctors which brings
together guidance from Good
Medical Practice and
Treatment and care towards the end of life: good practice in
decision making. The aim is to help doctors keep within
the law, without leaving their patients feeling abandoned.
The
guidance for doctors is available to read on the
website
If you have any questions about the guidance
for decision makers or the guidance for doctors, please call our
Standards and Ethics team on 020 7189 5404 or email standards@gmc-uk.org.
People at risk of self harm: Guidance
regarding information sharing, protection and
confidentiality
SENT ON BEHALF OF NIALL KEARNEY, HEAD OF
MENTAL HEALTH IMPROVEMENT, SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT
Dear Colleague,
The attached
letter is to bring to your attention guidance which we
published in late 2012 on the Scottish Government website. The
guidance is entitled Working with children and adults who may
be at risk of self-harm: practice guidance on information sharing,
protection and confidentiality. It is for people working with
children and adults where there is a concern about self-harm. The
guidance is intended to help people working in this context to be
able to work effectively with people who self-harm.
The guidance stresses that, for detailed
direction on local arrangements, practitioners should always
refer to local policy on self harm, suicide, child
protection and adult protection. In addition, recognising the
potential impact of this issue on staff, carers and others, the
document includes links to other relevant publications and
resources.
Please ensure that the guidance is
brought to the attention of staff who would expect to be involved
in sharing of information in relation to people at risk of
self-harm.
Thank you.
State of mental health services in the 21st century
The Mental Health Foundation has issued a Call for
Evidence as part of its major inquiry into the Future of
Mental Health Services in the UK.
The enquiry is exploring what mental health services might look
like in 20-30 years' time. This will involve anticipating
what changes will take place in society, assessing the challenges
mental health services may face in the future, and thinking
creatively about the ways services can meet these challenges. They
hope their findings will help ensure that all mental health
services are fit for purpose in the 21st century.
They are therefore releasing a Call for Evidence in
order to gather as many people's views on the future of mental
health services as possible. Attached is a
website that has been set up for the inquiry, which contains a
link to the Call for Evidence.
But as a shortcut, here is a link to
the questionnaire.
If you had the time it would be great if you could complete
the questionnaire.
Mental Health Global MSc
You may be interested in the new MSc in Global Mental Health
programme at the University of Glasgow; shorter periods of training
are also available to Diploma and Certificate level. A
flyer is attached, and further details can be found on the
University
of Glasgow website.
The programme was very much designed for people who are
currently employed, or who are engaged in other forms of training -
hence the use of the two week intensive teaching blocks. If you do
the programme part-time these five teaching blocks can be spread
over 2 years or longer. Alternatively the 5 two-week teaching
blocks can be completed over one year full-time.
They have an established network of mental health workers,
trainers, and policy makers from a number of countries and can
offer you much to learn about global mental health and service
organisation and delivery in low income countries. If you have any
questions or would like more information please contact the
Programme Director, Dr Ross White at Ross.White@glasgow.ac.uk.
RCPsych in Scotland Expert Witness List
For some time the RCPsych in Scotland has collated a list of
members who are willing for their details (usually work telephone
number/work email adddress) to be given to third parties. At the
moment our list is very out of date, and we would like to collate a
whole new list and include some more information. If you are
interested in being added to this list and would like more
information please follow the link below.
Important Message for all Members in Scotland
Have we got your email address? Have you recently changed it and
not informed the College in London? Our email information all comes
off the main College database, therefore if you don't keep it up to
date you will miss out on mailings from the College in Scotland as,
from this year, we are only sending information electronically
(unless you opt in a mailshot by post). Already we have noticed
some members either don't have an email address on the database or
it is incorrect. Please help us to make sure we are sending
notifications to the right place. We can change your details from
our PCs so get in touch if you want us to update.
Regional Representatives
Each Faculty in Scotland now has 4 regional representatives. The
job description for a Regional Representative was approved by the
Education Training and Standards Committee in July this year. You
can access the job description here.
Any queries let Rebecca Middlemiss know - rmiddlemiss@scotdiv.rcpsych.ac.uk
Guidance on
Revalidation Guidance is now available on the
main college
website
RCPsych in Scotland - Reducing alcohol-related harm in
Scotland
Briefing document
Health and Sport Committee Report on Alcohol Minimum
Pricing
The Health and Sport Committee released their
report on Alochol Minimum Pricing today which reccommends
that the bill proceeds to Stage 2. The full report can be read on
the
committee website.
Bursaries available for Poster presentations at UK Faculty
Conferences
Any trainee working in Scotland can
apply to the RCPsych in Scotland for some financial assistance to
present a poster at a UK Faculty Conference. See the flyer for more
detailed information.
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