Royal College of Psychiatrists Volunteering &
International Psychiatry Special Interest Group
Committee Meeting
Date: Friday 16th January 2015
Venue: Royal College of Psychiatrists, London
AGENDA
· Present:
Peter Hughes PH , Sally Browning SB, Sania Ahmad SA, Abbass
Mohammadinasab AM, Hesham Elnazer HE, David Jiminez DJ,
Lucienne Aquire LA, Maureen Wilkinson MW, Peter McGovern
PMG, Walid AbdulHamid WAH, Barbara Martini BM, Alice Spencer
AS, Howard Ryland HR, Mayowa Oyesanya MO, Lene Meyer
Anderson LMA , Victor Doku VD
· Apologies:
Victor Doku, Ashok Singh, Sophie Thomson, Alice Spencer, Maureen
Wilkinson
1. Minutes of last meeting
January meeting
 Meetings outside of London- Birmingham worked well,
Manchester didn’t. Once a year in Birmingham agreed.
Action = contact different divisions to see if other areas may like.
(All)
We need advertising to circulate meetings happening via trusts and
divisions
 Finances strong
 Next conference as an agenda item
 Website needs updating. PH did try to meet web designer
If we had extra money we could fund an external website- RP keen
to help build up social media stuff
Needs to be active. Webpress noted as a good website. So would
be a link
 Essay prize went very well, exciting, excellent entrants
Action from last meeting: we decided to have a strategy group
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Training and educationlink to Iranian medical assoc
Database of organizations we can contact
Hub model for international training
Linkedin profile for vipsig
Some experiences that linkedin has been
helpful for colleagues
 Facebook going well
 Advocacy and talking about international work e.g. about
release from work, having it accredited for training
 Database for medical electives. 2 reps- James Gaw & Alice
Spencer. So maybe they can take electives forward. Some Unis
offer bursaries for psychiatry electives. So VIPSIG could publicise
bursaries
List of electives & contacts- action for med stud reps
 Trying to get global health on med school curriculum inc
psychiatry
 Continuously will want articles for newsletter
2. Matters arising
Attendance? Better at last meeting due to
People found about different routes, email, face book, checking
website. Facebook and website are best
On website seems to work well for people. We need times for
future meetings
Some issue with limited admin problems
3. Feedback from Peter Hughes (PH), VIPSIG Chair
 PH: has contacted VSO (globally largest volunteer group)
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about how to work together. They thanked him; said maybe
could be something in future. Not a lot of MH stuff.
Also contacted college of nursing, a natural partner, and they
do have a small type of international work. Hopefully may be
joint projects in future. Strong nursing education and arms in
KTSP.
RCGP no response yet, ongoing to try to build further links.
Some GPs in Somaliland working with PHA- poverty health
action.
AM may try to contact someone from GP liaison conference.
Academy of Royal Colleges one sounded promising
LJ is RSM psych trainee rep- will follow-up
SLAM global mental health center- no official link, often
research focused
 Intl Psychiatry changed format. They have a new journal,
BJPSych International. They will publish on general interest
for readers, esp LAMIC. They are no longer publishing
research in this journal.
 PH contacted human rights committee. They’ve invited PH for
upcoming meeting 7.7.15 on human rights re Palestine.
 CRPD. Convention of rights with persons with disability (this
includes mental illness). One of implications is someone has
capacity they cannot be treated against their will. CRPD
mainly academic at present.
 Palestine mental health group. They’re mainly about
advocacy- human rights in Palestine, quite political. They’re
mainly political, no imminent projects we can get involved in.
One idea could be to do a project open to all e.g. Palestinians
and Israelis.
 PH also contacted NHS England for link, no reply
 Lesotho mhGAP training also done by PH.
4. Conference feedback
 We have VIPSIG workshop at annual conference. ST will talk
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about Burma. Maybe Syria as well. Some workshop theme
about how to prepare for e.g. projects
As an aside- VIPSIG could do a day setting up for volunteering.
Asked if we have venues free. Could even do an evening
event
Any ideas are welcome. We will try
SMMHEP have a stand
Agreed to LJ to put VIPSIG name on her Cambodia poster
5. Feedback from VIPSIG leads
 Conference lead- done
 Fundraising done- strong position
Fundraising from Burma trek got a lot of money to volunteer
scheme
 PTC rep. Yousuf Zacharia. Action- contact him to see if he still
wants to be involved
 Trainee rep- Ruairi is keen, agreed. We will also ask on
facebook
 Med stud reps- we now have 2. James Gaw Edinburgh
 Newsletter going well, twice a year
 UK lead- no one. MedMinds. Mental health I mosques and
churches stuff going on.
 CAMHS rep- Northern Ireland, Heather Hannah
 Retirees- Sally did put notices in newsletter for interest in
subgroup- no reply. Nick rose is doing a retirement event
soon
 Diaspora- VD not here. Diaspora group
 Research and audit and academic: no rep yet. AM agreed to
do. Could be nice to have a publication list on website, inc by
country. Question raised if schizophrenia is a useful term
globally- concept could be good for newsletter.
 Some thoughts in Somaliland about starting a Somaliland
journal
6. AOB
 Room booking- CALC problems, now £2000 for event above
50 people. Agreed stick to 50 limit is best.
 PFA should be priority, not done by many other people,
follows IASC guidelines. PH doing a small project in hospital
about 1 day HCA training on PFA.
Seemingly 100 ish people interested. Could do 2 events in short
succession
Action- we need to book this, PH will chase
 PH has been doing analysis on senior volunteer scheme.
Outcomes showing development needed .
130/140 people. Great opportunity e.g. for e-supervision
College stamp very helpful, and scheme also has some funding
Myanmar, Kashmir are supported to an extent. There isn’t enough
pre and post support. People are saying there isn’t enough
awareness of opportunities.
PH will bring his findings to international advisory committee.
 Malawi excellent,
 Somaliland really promoted
 AM- wanted to mention Ghana project. AM runs it, project
coming to an end/ winding down. But trying to provide CPD
activities, looking for volunteers to do this. Winchester Uni
taking over running form trust. Wants to run things for
trainees, maybe for 2 weeks.
 The other Ghana project is a 3 month project where trainees
go. College partners with challengers worldwide. One of the
flagship college projects, and counts training. Open to London
and Sussex. Wessex deanery is also helpful
 AM One day orientation for volunteering. PH happy to help
 LJ- had some prev involvement with transcultural group and
some website design. LJ with liaise with RP. Looked very good
with lots of content etc. Could put links for other
organizations. Some videos would be nice
 LJ- could be web lead
 LJ - TPO in Cambodia. Transcultural psychosocial organization.
Very good potential opportunities for trainees. PH will happily
write letter and certificates.
 SB- will get in touch with nick rose re retirement . Huge
potential acknowledged. Advantages of time and skills, SB
would be keen to help set up some kind of orientation.
 SA- trying to set up an ngo in the Maldives, registered this
year = mental health awareness foundation. Aims inc mhGAP
training and raising awareness, working on leaflets. Trying a
conference. Looking for volunteers for Maldives. Has funding.
Was looking for 4 volunteers, now 2. Looking for 1 consultant.
Aim is to teach general drs, nurses, allied healthcare
professionals, care workers of asylum. Looking for 2 weeks.
Also looking to do teachers. Lots of projects and ambition. PH
highlighted key to mhGAP is supervision afterwards
 SY- is one of editors of London deanery newsletter. She will
interview Peter as one article.
UPDATES ON TRIPS /whats happening
 PH- Somaliland did a revision trip
 WHO mhGAP meetings inc development of a primary care
strategy
 Turkey-Syria’s border doing mhGAP training
 Iraq- strategic response for refugees and internally
displaced people. They were piloting mhGAP humanitarian
model/ manual
 Going to 3 country post ebola strategic development for MH
 E supervision for Somaliland ongoing
 Looking for someone to go to Sierra Leone as a volunteer
with King’s. Stania Kamara is out there at the moment.
Ebola now mostly beaten.
 Guatemala- Karin Laudin, works NE England, education for
the children charity. Wants to establish a network of UK
psychiatrists and Guatemala. AM is talking to her on skype
this week.
(South America and Caribbean are strong on mhgap)
 Non members may not be getting communicated with- we
need to to help with this
Proposed meetings for 2015
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24.4.2015
28.8.2015
13.11.2015
Summary of 16.1.2015 development work GROUP WORK
RECORDED BELOW
The VIPSIG meeting broke into groups to develop strands of work
around VIPSIG stated objectives
1. VIPSIG hopes to support training and education in the
international arena
· Strengthen links with international organizations e.g. Iranian
Medical association . Action –contact Cyrus Abbassian
· Need to compile database of relevant organizations-Who will
do this? ACTION Please give names of organisations
· Hub model for international training –ACTION –Can someone
explain this
· Linked-in profile for VIPSIG MO ACTION –need to see if can
have vipsig e-mail. Request made . Facebook page seems active
2. Be a voice that will inform the College and serve as an agent in
this work
· Explore avenues of communication between grassroots and
executive within VIPSIG ACTION: How do we do this please –advice
needed
3. Promote overseas electives for medical students and
encouragement of psychiatry as a career. ACTION : How will we
do this and who. If everyone gives electives details right now to
start . Need to see if can have electives list link to VIPSIG -at least
info on where to contact. Request made to web people
· PTC bursaries to include writing an abstract to collate elective
reports for VIPSIG- ACTIOn PH to contact PTC rep
· Global health BScs and Masters VIPSIG to connect to or support
university depts involved ACTION PH has contacted Kings and
waits answers. Please tell me what others are around
· Advocacy at medical schools to promote mental health within
global health curricula ACTION medical student rep
· Establish links with university hospital and dep of health/NGOs
ACTION PH –need to think about this one –Which universities,
which NGOS , What and who in DOH ?
· Protocol and a concrete project ACTION –don't really
understand this point –can you explain ?
· Provide information regarding language ACTIOn –can you
remind me what thjis is about
· Admin work ACTIOn –can you get back to me about this
· Projects organizing to personal interest – ACTIOn can you get
back to me about this
· Articles /newsletter ACTION –is there an action here . is
newsletter ok. Articles –Anyone please think of ideas ?
4. Fundraising role
1 Ask college for funds ACTION –They wont give us
2 Conferences evening of speakers and volunteers-pay or
donation ACTION EG PFA DAY, mhGAP , SUCIIDE . Do people have
ideas for events
3 Sponsored activities ACTION –can people get back on this
4 Donations ACTION –need to continue and promote and collect
5. Explore web based psychiatry training to assist training sites in
mental health
· E-learning –CPD online module –use previous modules as a
framework ACTION –can anyone help with this
· mhGAP ACTION not clear what we can do with this on web?
· Psychological first aid ACTION don't know how we can do this
on web but we will have event at college
6. Establish e-groups ACTION – what do people think and how do
we do this ? Facebook group seems to be going ok pending
LINKEDIN . Twitter unclear if making an impact
· group generating material for an open group which is more
interest than connect Expert/coordinating contacts ACTION didn't
follow so can you get back . Is this for e group ?
· Ethical concerns ACTION can group get back as to what they
mean
· Advantage over face to face
· Closed –google/facebook/regional/global-e.g. human rights
o Open –Public facing –moderation needed
· Link- a closed group approved
· Particular groups on different issues ACTION how and who
wants to follow this up ?
7. Promote volunteer work
· social media-website,blog ACTION -continue
· Appoint ambassadors ACTION –How do we do this . WHO ,
WHERE, HOW
· Approach training programmes and medical schools and
academic programme ACTION –WHO WHERE HOW
· Posters /congress ACTION we have a slot this year
· Article /Newsletter ACTIOn continue
8. Human rights
· Link with human rights committee at Royal College ACTION –
Have contacted and they will get back
· Diaspora committee ACTION –bring up at next meeting
· WHO –ACTION lot of material available for reference for
anyone
· NICE International ACTION –don't know them
· Local organization ACTIOn like what and who will do this
· Medical justice ACTION –what is meant here . I know there is
some volunteer work in this area
9. Training materials
· Linking to Medsinwork and the unoffiocal medical curriculum
ACTION can people get back on this ? Mayoma?
· Application of established materials in our own volunteer work
ACTION don't really follow this
· Global health crash courses eg speakers ACTIOn can you get
back about this
· Advising global mental health on the curriculum ACTION Who
where and how do we do this ?
· Global context treatment gap within exam questions ACTIOn
any thoughts on how we do this WHO How WHERE ?
10. MDT work
· Working with RCNvolunteer group and other organisation
including human rights,law ACTION have contacted RCN and
Human rights committee at college. Waiting to hear back from
both.
· Ngo and diaspora ACTION . I can contact NGO and diaspora
committee . or of anyone else wanst to lead on this
· Diaspora committee links ACTIOn continue to link with
DIASPORA links in college
· Reaching out to VSO/THET ACTION can contact VSO again and
THET are aware of us but no role for us at this time
· Make links with post grad research in mental health at Kings
and LSTMH ACTION –WHO CAN HELP WITH THIS ?
11. Medicine supply ACTION Have made some links to some
voluntary organizations
12. Student curriculum ACTION – have mentioned to Charlotte
Wilson Jones
13. CCGs
ACTIOn –what do we do now ?
14. Palestine ACTION –Does anyone want to make a special thing
for Palestine
15. Website ACTION have asked college if we can have page
separate from College control
16. Non members
ACTION need to ensure that all members and non members are
registered in college. Only 8 non members registered before so we
hope this will improve –Liaise with college admin