A busy year ahead

2023 looks as though it is going to be another busy year for the College in Scotland.

I joined the team as the new RCPsych in Scotland Policy Officer at the end of November and I have really enjoyed my time so far. The rest of the team have been so welcoming and have really made me feel at home in my new job.

It was a busy start to my time at the College with a response to the Scottish dementia strategy consultation due in my first week. In the months that have followed, we have submitted responses to the Scottish Government’s National Care Service proposals, the revised ECT standards, the mental health and wellbeing workforce strategy and the new mental health and wellbeing strategy.

We have also met with the team leading the mental health law reform programme, campaigned for increased mental health funding, given evidence to parliamentary committees and met with politicians and government officials to raise awareness of the enormous strain being experienced by mental health services and the workforce.

The College in Scotland would not have been able to do any of this work without the support of members. It is your expertise that has informed our responses.

We are aware of how busy members in Scotland are, with demand for mental health services continuously rising. With that in mind, we would like to thank you for your support. Whether that has involved responding to consultations, attending conferences, taking on a Scottish College role, or representing Scottish psychiatry on various taskforces, advisory groups, committees and to the media, we really appreciate all of your effort in such trying times.

In the next few months, the College in Scotland will be responding to the mental health and wellbeing workforce action plan, the second draft of the mental health and wellbeing strategy and the quality standards for adult secondary mental health services. We will do our best to ensure that you are able to share your views and influence these various pieces of work.

At present, we are focusing on our response to the draft quality standards for adult secondary mental health services.

We have put together a short survey with 13 questions which you can use to tell us what you think about the draft standards.

However, if you would rather meet to discuss your thoughts on the draft standards, then we also have two online focus groups scheduled for Wednesday 22 February and Thursday 2 March. To sign up for either of these focus groups, please email Scotland@rcpsych.ac.uk.

If you would like to get involved in any of our upcoming work, or if you have any questions, then please get in touch. We would love to hear from you.

Matthew James, RCPsych in Scotland Policy Officer