Latest updates from the NDPSIG
Neurodevelopmental Psychiatry Special Interest Group
Dear All,
An end of year greeting from Bristol. I hope the festivities prove a useful break for you.
I am very aware that I have been remiss in not bringing you up to date with what is happening in our SIG. I plead that I have had some family issues and some other tasks within the college that have diverted me for a time. I am now back in the seat for a while.
We are now at the end of yet another year of the SIG developing - we are now 6 years old and have 3,900 signed up with us - reflecting how much college members recognise the importance of neurodevelopmental conditions in our clinical practice.
First has been the development of higher training in neurodevelopmental condtions. As part of this the Exec has spent a lot of time on the development of an advanced autism course for psychiatrists, the National Autism Training Programme, which is being led by Karen Quinton who helped put the MRCPsych exams online. She hopes to have the e-learning element of the course online by the end of January. We have learnt the hard way how much time it infact takes to create 40 hours of online material!
Linked to this has been the development of more general higher training in Neurodevelopmental conditions - we are starting discussions about developing credentials for NDP higher training.
Alongside this, after discussions with the ID Faculty we have decided that at present there is little advantage to us merging as we are covering a greater range of areas of practice than does the ID Faculty.
Conor Davidson has been doing sterling work as the Autism Champion and the College has accepted that it needs to develop a position statement on Autism which should be out next year. Our work in promoting a national Community of Practice for all clinicians working with Autistic patients has now paid off and is now holding regular meetings, funded by NHSE.
ADHD services have been in the news all year, with waiting lists reaching levels that are impossible to clear then in addition Panorama leading the media in questioning the diagnostic process in many clinics, and most recently the shortage of stimulant medication that may go on well into the next year. Ulrich Muller-Sedgwick who is on our exec. contributed to the national advice on medication that has just been released and it can be read here (scroll through the subpages for the official advice on what to do).
Having proved the worth of having an Autism Champion, the College has decided to appoint an ADHD champion. We are at the final stages with the job description and hope to have it advertised in the next month or so. Keep an eye out for it!
Raja Mukherjee, our efficient finance officer, has also been leading the development of a College statement on Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder - it has taken a lot of time and effort but we hope to have it out next year.
In addition our IT communications has not been good - not helped by my not being able to access my Chair’s email account for over a year, and relaxing in the belief that all the emails were being forwarded to my working account. When I got in last month I discovered that many of the offers of help you made to me after my last letter had not been forwarded and seen by me. So please do not see my lack of response to your welcome offers a year ago as me ignoring you! As the offers are now so old I am reluctant to respond to them but ask afresh for offers.
Dr Peter Carpenter
Chair of the RCPsych Neurodevelopmental Psychiatry Special Interest Group
December 2023
Chair of the RCPsych Neurodevelopmental Psychiatry Special Interest Group
October 2022
