Professor Subodh Dave
2026 Presidential candidate
Professor Subodh Dave, Consultant Psychiatrist, Derbyshire Healthcare Foundation Trust; Professor of Psychiatry, University of Greater Manchester; Dean, Royal College of Psychiatrists
Summary Statement
As President, I will be an ambitious champion for Psychiatrists, led by key priorities focussing on
- Enhancing the impact and influence of Psychiatrists
- Driving optimal patient outcomes
- Supporting a diverse workforce to thrive
- Leading prevention and public mental health
- Implementing future focussed innovation.
Let’s include, innovate and implement together.
Election Address
Coming from an underprivileged background in Mumbai, and becoming the first doctor in my community was a dream made possible by the aspiration and ambition that my parents instilled in me. This journey shaped my belief in confident, compassionate and aspirational medical leadership. That’s why I’m running for President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists.
Psychiatry is under siege. Demand for mental healthcare is rising rapidly in scale and complexity, while psychiatrists are working within increasingly overstretched and underfunded systems. We must move beyond parity of esteem and place psychiatry at the heart of healthcare – utilising our unique biopsychosocial and systemic expertise to deliver true person-centred care.
I have five priorities:
- Enhancing the impact and influence of psychiatrists at team, organisational, system and policy levels. Psychiatrists are the only members of the multidisciplinary team with comprehensive biopsychosocial expertise, yet this is too often sidelined in clinical decision-making, service design and funding. As President, I will connect frontline psychiatrists with system leaders and policymakers, ensuring that clinical expertise genuinely shapes care pathways, workforce planning and resource allocation.
- Using the College’s influence with healthcare providers to drive optimal patient outcomes. As psychiatrists we want to see our patients receive timely, evidence-based, person-centred care. Safe, effective and consistent implementation of evidence-based treatments such as clozapine, lithium and ECT, saves lives and costs – helping narrow the mortality gap that patients with severe mental illness face.
- Ensuring our workforce is sufficiently staffed, diverse and supported to thrive. Scapegoating and a culture of fear can inhibit good psychiatric practice. I’ll champion a culture of care, relational safety and support over undue scrutiny. Over decades, I’ve worked to address discrimination and inequity - whether for Doctors in Distress or international medical graduates or for colleagues with neurodivergence. I will ensure that psychiatrists at every career stage feel heard and empowered.
- Championing prevention and public mental health. I will promote the effective delivery of secondary and tertiary prevention, for instance metformin, smoking cessation or evidence-based lifestyle interventions, but also early intervention across the life course.
- Leading the way in implementing cutting-edge innovation – through applied research and leveraging technical and digital advances to make psychiatrists’ working life easier. Learning from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the College must innovate too, in empowering regions to influence local policy and funding decisions to achieve the best outcomes for their communities.
From securing the largest increase in training numbers, initiating Dean's Grand Rounds, The Public Mental Health Leadership Certification course, Digital Literacy Framework, to the establishment of the College’s first International Diploma in Old Age Psychiatry, I am proud of my record as Dean in translating ideas to action.
If elected, I will bring my marathoner’s determination, endurance and tenacity to the role of President. I will help Psychiatry reclaim its leadership role and work in collaboration with patients and carers for better outcomes for all involved. Let’s build a brighter future for Psychiatry.
Together, let’s include, innovate and implement.
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