Psychological Medicine Newsletter
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience Psychological Medicine Newsletter Issue 2 | January 2016 Welcome from the Head of Department Welcome to the second edition of our newsletter for the Dear Colleagues, Department of Psychological Medicine. Thank you for all The publication of this second edition of our Psychological Medicine Newsletter is your numerous contributions. a minor miracle. All credit goes to Jolanta and Olga for their sheer persistence, persuasive powers and ingenuity, in As always, we would welcome overcoming multiple administrative any feedback on the content as hurdles and cutting through a giant well as your input into future Gordian knot of red tape, which eventually enabled Olga to be allowed issues. use of the official King’s template for such [email protected] publications. Bravo, ladies! The last 6 months since the publication of our first newsletter have been a bit of a roller coaster. We have seen the initial elation about the outstanding IoPPN REF Ironically, shortly after the PDRs had results give way to the much more sombre all been put to bed, I came across an reality of HEFCE funding formulas article in The Times (Thursday, 30 July that significantly disadvantage mental 2015) suggesting that PDRs are likely health research and thus the IoPPN and to become a thing of the past and that Editor-in-chief: Olga Zielona everyone therein. giant management companies such as Co-editor: Dr Jolanta Zanelli Deloitte and Accenture, which have At the beginning of the summer, we saw previously implemented and advised on the birth and implementation of our new such systems, have now abolished them. PDR system. l must say I looked forward The Head of Accenture was quoted as INSIDE to this with some trepidation, given the saying ‘We are not sure that spending all inevitable teething problems that the that time in performance management has Research updates 2 introduction of any such new system been yielding such a great outcome’. causes and, of course, because of the Events 5 considerable amount of extra work caused The Evening Standard took up the theme by the new system to any HoD. One very the following day, but neither article was Events & welcomes 7 enjoyable thing for me personally was able to shed any light on what kind of that this provided an opportunity to get systems these companies were going to Awards 8 to know everyone in the Department, use instead. It will be interesting to learn read about all the amazing work that about ‘the next thing’ and see whether Students’ corner 10 people are doing and their ambitions and it gets implemented in the HES. In this plans for the future. What a hardworking context, it is also of note that there seems Recent grants and and impressive bunch you all are. Very to be an emerging government-led drive publications 11 humbling and uplifting reading indeed. Continued on page 2 Department of Psychological Medicine Newsletter: Issue 2 • January 2016 1 Research updates Continued from page 1 DELAROSE project to change the universities to be more DELAROSE Stress Management for Healthcare Professionals responsive to students and improve the student experience. The DELAROSE project was King’s College London have been introduced in the previous edition of the involved in the project, funded by a I don’t know how and when the Psychological Medicine newsletter. The European grant, for the past 18 months. government will effect such changes, but project, which is concerned with creating Sula Windgassen, under the supervision of at a guess there will be a rating scheme an educational stress management online Professor Trudie Chalder, has contributed and some financial reward/penalty! At a programme for healthcare professionals, to the development of course material local level, this may result in changes in is currently in the pilot phase. Three sites regarding cognitive and behavioural how staff are appraised and promoted – across Europe are now providing access aspects of stress management and to the time will tell. to the learning sessions and extra course design and assessment of the pilot phase of materials to healthcare workers in Austria, the project. Results of the pilot phase are After a full year into being HoD and Ireland and Switzerland. being analysed and will be submitted in preparing for this year’s rounds of the final report in January 2016. promotions, I feel I have finally arrived, Student participants of the pilot are as I now have done most typical HoD required to return a portfolio of different For more information about the project or activities at least once. It was lovely to learning activities assigned on the to register interest in accessing the website be treated to a welcome party in the course. These portfolios are assessed and you can contact Sula Windgassen by spring and, as many people said, we accredited by the partner educational site email: [email protected] should definitely try to have an annual for each respective country. The challenge Psychological Medicine party. We will is to collect the portfolios and assess them Sula Windgassen start planning for this as soon as Christmas for all participants before the end of the Psychological Medicine, IoPPN is out of the way, so that people can put it assessment period at the beginning of in their diaries. September. Incidentally, Psychological Medicine The pilot is measuring increases in is clearly a trail blazer in the newsletter participants’ knowledge across a range ‘business’. Since we started ours, other of modules covering different aspects newsletters have now emerged both at of stress management. These include departmental level and IoPPN wide. As cognitive and behavioural skills, such as they say, imitation is the sincerest form of identifying unhelpful patterns of thinking flattery. I hope you will enjoy the many and behaviour; assessment of risk in the good news and success stories in this workplace skills, and the utilisation of second newsletter as much as I did. exercise. All the best, Ulrike Schmidt, Service Parents’ & Adolescents’ Head of Department Psychological Medicine, IoPPN Challenges & Experiences (SPACE) study Following on from the KIDS study, The SPACE study aims to recruit 100 which concluded in 2013, the SPACE families with eligible children aged study received funding from the US 11-17 to the study by early summer Dept of Defense to further investigate 2016. Measures used include online the influence of PTSD in military fathers questionnaires for all family members and on their adolescent children’s emotional a home visit to the families. wellbeing and behaviour. The study received MoDREC approval in June All families participating have taken part 2015 and recruited its final RA (Research in the Department’s flagship cohort study Assistan) to the team in July, bringing the as well as the KIDS study. team total to three Melanie Chesnokov research assistants, a research SPACE Study Co-ordinator, KCMHR administrator, and a study co-ordinator. The study PI is Professor Nicola Fear. 2 Department of Psychological Medicine Newsletter Research updates PRINCE Trials Patients with persistent physical symptoms (PPS), otherwise referred to as medically RINCE Primary is a pilot cluster unexplained symptoms (MUS), appear across all areas of medicine. Their symptoms are randomised controlled trial, which often associated with profound disability and increased and unnecessary healthcare Paims to evaluate the acceptability costs. Patients themselves experience fragmented care and often feel misunderstood and feasibility of studying an integrated and stigmatized. Our research seeks to overcome these difficulties by developing approach to care in general practice new care pathways with acute care clinicians for patients with medically PPS in for adults with PPS. The intervention secondary care and an integrated care approach in primary care. These pathways ‘Integrated GP care’ will involve training will facilitate the delivery of care to patients that is effective and acceptable but not GPs in the use of cognitive behaviour yet comprehensively implemented across a healthcare system. We are conducting two therapy for patients with PPS. The randomised trials to this end. training will be CPD accredited and will include role play, videos, ongoing supervision and prompt sheets for GPs to use. In addition, patients will be given self-help materials which include a series of leaflets and an animation describing a patient’s experience with chronic pain. he PRINCE Secondary randomised controlled trial, has been designed Tto evaluate the clinical and cost- effectiveness of Standard Medical Care (SMC) plus Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (SMC+CBT), for patients with PPS. SMC+CBT will be compared with SMC alone. This trial will recruit 450 patients in total across several clinics, including Rheumatology (fibromyalgia), Neurology (functional neurological symptoms), Gastroenterology (irritable bowel syndrome), Postural Tachycardia Syndrome clinic (PoTS), and the Professor Trudie Chalder Rapid Access Chest Pain Clinic (non- cardiac chest pain). Following baseline assessment, participants will be required to complete follow-up measures at weeks The SPACE study team. From left to right 9, 20, 40 and 52. back row: Kristy Rye, Bonnie Parker, Melanie Chesnokov; front row left to right: Nathan Professor Trudie Chalder Parnell and Anna Verey IoPPN Katie Watts, Research Worker (Secondary Care) IoPPN Issue 2: January 2016 3 Research Research up updates ADVANCE study During the recent Iraq and Afghanistan ADVANCE is a cohort study that will conflicts, the UK sustained 625 of compare the health of 600 male combat battlefield casualties with servicemen casualties, with matched controls over 20 and women returning home with severe years; this study is an unique opportunity combat-related trauma. Of these, to describe the long-term physical and 275 suffered a traumatic or surgical psychosocial outcomes of blast and other amputation. military trauma and will influence the development of medical, surgical and Professor Sir Simon Wessely and Although all seriously injured service rehabilitation care pathways for the future.