Reflections post RCGP Conference, Liverpool, October 2011

A truly energizing 2 days with the highest quality plenary speakers and plenty of interesting  parallel sessions to attend. There was a strong theme of generalism and a return to putting the ‘caritas’ alongside the science-maybe even before, but certainly not as an after thought. Clare Gerada showed true leadership and was awarded with a standing ovation for her rousing address . Liverpool is my birth town and it always feels deeply nostalgic to revisit. The people of the city are unfailing, if irreverent,  in their warm welcome and sharp humour!

Adolescent Health appeared like a fire fly and we must build on those sparks to ignite a fire at next year’s conference . Richard Horton, editor of the Lancet (no less!) referred to Adolescent Health as “the new critical discipline”. There is a global movement gaining a groundswell and we need to make sure we are part of this movement.

Whilst we were holding our own symposium on adolescent mental health in primary care at the RCPCH on Friday 14^th October, the International Declaration on Youth Mental Health was launched in Dublin. Please see the link below for more details. Thanks to Dr David Shiers for linking us into this wider movement.

http://www.inspireireland.ie/international-declaration-on-youth-mental-health-launched/

Clare Gerada pledged her support to the group at the Moral Maze panel and both Hamish Meldrum,Chairman of Council, BMA and Prof Michael Rawlins, Chairman of NICE admitted that young people have been short changed by a system which operates on a disease silo structure and which does not always recognize the  particular needs of adolescents . Dr Meldrum was less inclined to consider young people as a ‘special group’ but one with particular needs. Prof Rawlins  conceded that we have not always done the best for them. We aim to move the agenda forward .

Please note the dates for next years’s RCGP annual conference: October 4-6^th  2012, Glasgow. Planning  for the meeting starts now and we hope to have a significant presence at the event. If you have a particular idea please contact me to discuss.

With best wishes

Jane

A new term

A summer image-at Freya Cabin on Keilder Water, Northumberland

Memories of summer are behind us and autumn has arrived to mark the first meeting under my watch of the Adolescent Health Group . We were a full house with almost standing room only! The meeting was held at RCGP Bow Churchyard and we are appreciative of the support from CIRC and of our administrative officer, Hannah Price. We look forward to developing our relationship with the team at CIRC, including Chris Gush (Head of CIRC) and  Imran Rafi (Clinical Director).

It was a real pleasure to welcome new members and to see established and longstanding members steadfast and consistent in their support to make general practice more adolescent friendly.

Key points to reflect upon:

1.     1.  Our thriving relationship with AYPH (www.youngpeopleshealth.org.uk). Under the dynamic leadership of their Development Manager, Emma Rigby, our portfolio  of joint projects continues apace.

• ·         Watch this space for our national tour when we jointly deliver BMJ Master classes in Adolescent Health at a venue near you! We are delighted that the call has come from the BMJ Master Class Series Editor, Dr Christine Ward, in response to a demand from GPs and see this as an indication of a growing awareness of young people’s particular needs.

• ·         We are organizing a joint conference in the appealing city of Cardiff in wonderful Wales, March 27^th 2012: Putting Research into practice. The call for abstracts and further details will be announced shortly

• ·         November 23^rd sees the general release of the latest Key Data in Adolescence (Ed s: Coleman J, Brooks F, Threadgold P.) The data will soon be available to members of the AYPH via the website.

2.        2.We have  been invited to respond to the government’s latest document for  consultation : ‘Positive Youth’.

3.       3.The group is working on a series of proposals to honour the memory of Dr Anne McPherson who was a founding member and seminal influence of the Adolescent Health Group .

4.     4.  Supporting Education across the life course of a primary health care practitioner’s professional life remains core to our role and we are looking at how we draw together our collective experience and expertise and work with key stake holders to roll out initiatives of good practice.

Finally, the group was featured in October’s RCGP News-p 2.

Next week the group leads on a symposium ,to be  held at RCPCH, defining the key role of general practice in adolescent mental health.

Please keep tuned into the blog for more news of forthcoming events and feedback on the projects mentioned above.

With good wishes

Jane

jane.roberts@sunderland.ac.uk