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Oxford trainee, Dr Daniel Maughan, appointed to RCPsych Research Fellowship in Sustainability 2013-15

Frances Mortimer
Frances Mortimer • 13 March 2013

The Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych) and the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare (CSH) are delighted to announce the appointment of Dr Daniel Maughan to the RCPsych Research Fellowship in Sustainability 2013-15.

The RCPsych is funding the two-year fellowship to improve the sustainability of mental health services, in response to growing concern at the threat posed by climate change to the health of disadvantaged groups in the UKi  and abroadii iii. People with serious mental illness are particularly at risk of climate effectsiv

The NHS is called upon to lead the way in transformation to a sustainable, low carbon society, and the RCPsych recognises that a radical change in clinical practices will be needed in order for mental health services to meet the Climate Change Act’s target of 80% carbon reduction by 2050. 

As the RCPsych Sustainability Fellow, Dr Maughan will work under the supervision of CSH, the RCPsych and the University of Warwick to create a network of sustainability champions in mental health services, research innovations and new models of care and stimulate the adoption of sustainable practices in Mental Health Trusts around the country. 

The RCPsych is the first Royal College to fund and support such a Fellowship, which follows the CSH Sustainable Specialities model. The approach is based on the belief that innovations and new models of care must be produced by clinicians, inspired and empowered where necessary by outsiders working with clinicians on a collaborative basis, and has been successfully pioneered in kidney care in 2009-11v

Learning from the project will be shared widely with the aim of informing transformation in other clinical areas.  

Dr Frances Mortimer, Medical Director of CSH, said, “the panel was hugely impressed with the quality of candidates applying to the Fellowship, many of whom demonstrated genuine commitment to sustainabiliity combined with previous experience of quality improvement within the NHS. We are delighted to have appointed Dr Maughan, and look forward to working with him on this exciting new dimension of mental healthcare over the next two years.”

Dr Daniel Maughan said, “I am very much looking forward to raising awareness of sustainable ideas in mental health services and highlighting the opportunities for incorporating these ideas into everyday clinical practice. Working with the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare, the University of Warwick and the Royal College of Psychiatrists provides an exciting opportunity to bring together innovative ideas from sustainable healthcare research into the mental health arena.”

Professor Sue Bailey, President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said: “With climate change already damaging the health of disadvantaged groups in the UK and abroad, sustainability is a key priority for our College. I am delighted that we are the first medical royal college to create and fund such a Fellowship, and hope that Dr Maughan will excel in his new role.”

Launch of online network for sustainability in mental health services

Staff and service users from across health and social care are invited to make contact with one another and share ideas and resources for sustainable mental health services via this new online network: Mental Health Susnet

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Notes

  1. Mental Health services are responsible for the emission of about 10% of overall NHS emissions, or 2.1 million tonnes of CO2 equivalents each year.  
  2. The RCPsych Research Fellowship for Sustainability will begin in August 2013 for two years, and was open to applications from doctors enrolled on a specialist training programme in psychiatry. As part of the post, the Fellow will be expected to study for an MD by Research at the University of Warwick.
  3. The Centre for Sustainable Healthcare (CSH) is an independent charity working with clinicians, healthcare managers, local community and patients to create a higher quality, cost-efficient, more sustainable health service. CSH has developed and pioneered the Sustainable Specialties approach to transforming healthcare.
  4. The Royal College of Psychiatrists is the professional body responsible for educating and training psychiatrists and raising standards in psychiatry in the United Kingdom.  Our principle aim is to improve the outcomes for those with mental illness and to improve the mental health of individuals, families and communities.  In order to achieve this the College’s has agreed that its core purposes should be to set standards and promote excellence in psychiatry and mental healthcare; to lead represent and support psychiatrists; and to work with patients, carers and their organisations.
  5. Warwick Medical School has an international reputation for education in clinical systems improvement and medical leadership, and provided academic support to CSH’s Green Nephrology Fellowship in 2009-10.

 

 

 

REFERENCES

i.  Fair Society, Healthy Lives. Strategic Review of Health Inequalities post-2010. The Marmot Review, 2010

ii.  Organization WHOwUNEPaWM. Climate change and human health - risks and responses. France: WHO, 2003

iii.  Costello et al. Managing the Health Effects of Climate Change. The Lancet, Volume 373, Issue 9676, Pages 1693 - 1733, 16 May 2009

iv.  Page L, Hajat S, Kovats RS, Howard LM. Temperature-related deaths in people with psychosis, dementia and substance misuse. British Journal of Psychiatry, 2012; 200: 485-490

v.  Connor A, Mortimer F, Tomson C. Clinical Transformation – the Key to Green Nephrology. Nephron Clinical Practice 2010;116(3):201-206. 

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