January 2019 - Professor Keith Lloyd, RCPsych in Wales Chair

Blwyddyn Newydd Dda, Happy new year to all.

Here at your newly devolved College it’s been great to have a short breather from what was a very busy, productive and also incredibly exciting end to 2018!  

On the 23rd November we held our joint winter meeting with the Welsh Psychiatric Society entitled ‘The Future of Psychiatry’ in Cardiff. This meeting was attended by over 80 delegates who enjoyed a varied insightful and informative programme, including Prof David Nutt who gave the keynote lecture “40 years of psychiatry, and how it can inform the next 40”.

‘The Future of Psychiatry’ meeting was also attended by third sector organisations including Alzheimer’s Society Cymru, Diverse Cymru, Hafal and The Reading Agency – it was great to have their support, and we look forward to working with them in the future!

Our final event of 2018 was a joint conference between the College and NAHT Cymru (the school leaders’ union in Wales) held in Cardiff on 14 December at the All Nations Centre. The event, chaired by Rob Williams, NAHT Cymru’s Director of Policy, and Professor Alka Ahuja, Public Engagement Lead, RCPsych Wales / Consultant Child and adolescent Psychiatrist, ABUHB, attracted a diverse selection of professionals from across Wales.

The major highlight of the day was the fantastic Schools debate held by eight Schools from across the Newport area, and was attended 100 young people. There were also informative, engaging and interactive workshops for all attendees, presented by representatives of some of Wales’ leading third sector organisations including The Samaritans, Action for Children, Training in Mind, plus other professionals who are leading the way with their pioneering work within school. This event was a major success for the College, and in light of the brilliant feedback we’ve received, it’s something we’ll be developing and including in our 2019 plans.

So as we start the year, planning is underway and things are already in place for what is shaping up to be another busy 12 months.

• We are meeting Cabinet Secretary Vaughan Gething AM this month to discuss our work plan to run in conjunction with the new upcoming Welsh legislation and agenda for Wales, ‘Together for Mental Health’ - a 3 year strategy.
• The College is excited to announce we have been accepted onto the Devolved Council, and are very much looking forward to the opportunities this will present
• Patrick Jones, RCPsych’s artist in residence, has been working incredibly hard these past few months putting together some brilliant creative writing workshops. There are 2 workshops confirmed so far that are due to be held at The Museum of Welsh Life, St Fagan’s, Cardiff – the work from these sessions will be used to contribute to the song cycle for Dementia Care, to be performed by the ‘Forget-Me-Not’ choir in March this year.

We’ll be keeping you all updated as things develop, but in the meantime, Happy New Year and here’s to a fantastic 2019!