Abstract
The College’s work in the specialised and vital field of veterans’ mental health has increased significantly in recent times, including providing input into government reviews and attending high-level meetings with Ministers.
Last September, Dr Kym Jenkins and I met with the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs and Minister for Defence Personnel, The Hon Dan Tehan, MP. We also met Air Vice-Marshal Tracy Smart, Commander Joint Health and Surgeon General, Australian Defence Force (ADF), and Veronica Hancock, First Assistant Secretary, Health & Community Services, Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA).
Dr Jenkins and I were then invited to the launch of the Centenary of ANZAC Centre on 15 September 2017. The ANZAC Centre comprises a Treatment Research Collaboration to discover new and more effective treatments for PTSD and other mental health problems, and a nationwide support service for practitioners who treat veterans.
After it was raised at the meeting with the Minister, the DVA called a meeting of the Veterans’ Mental Health Clinical Reference Group (CRG), to which Dr Jenkins was appointed. Dr Ian Gardner, Chair, Veterans’ Mental Health CRG, acknowledged the College’s role in calling for the CRG meetings to be re-established.
At the invitation of Air Vice-Marshal Smart, Dr Jenkins and I toured the ADF Centre for Mental Health at the HMAS Penguin in Sydney in mid-April. This was followed by a productive meeting with high-level representatives from the ADF and DVA who gave an overview of their work. We also had a broader discussion about opportunities for further collaboration with the College.
A military mental health session, ‘Partnerships with the armed forces’, was held at Congress in May. Air Vice-Marshal Smart spoke about the ADF’s mental health journey, while Colonel Claire Bennett from the New Zealand Defence Force talked about risk and protective factors for mental health in the NZDF. Commodore Dr Duncan Wallace, Head of the ADF Centre for Mental Health, shared how tele psychiatry is being used successfully in the ADF.
Dr Wallace is also Chair of the College’s Military and Veterans’ Mental Health Network. The Network’s purpose is to assist the Board to promote interest and expertise amongst psychiatrists and trainees in the mental health of military veterans and serving armed forces members. Members of the Network are assisting the College to draft a position statement on the mental health of veterans and defence service personnel, which will provide recommendations on how governments can assist in improving mental health outcomes for this population.
In other College news, work on the RANZCP Foundation – the expanded and reimagined Research and Education Foundation (REF) – is progressing. The Foundation will build on the work of the REF while supporting and encouraging clinical work and research to improve the mental health and wellbeing of communities. An Advisory Board to govern the Foundation is being established. It will report directly to the RANZCP Board and will manage the Foundation’s profile, develop its strategy, oversee fundraising activities and areas of expenditure, and monitor and report on outcomes.
Planning for our next International Congress in 2021 has already begun, including scoping of a number of venues in Singapore. Congress 2019 will be held from 12–16 May in Cairns, Queensland, and members can look forward to attending Congress 2020 in Hobart, Tasmania.
With the aim of furthering our relationships in the region, the College accepted an invitation from the Hong Kong College of Psychiatrists (HKCPsych) to be a partner of their International Mental Health Congress in December 2018. Dr Jenkins will be a keynote speaker and will speak on the theme ‘Looking after the mental health of vulnerable minority groups’. This collaboration will strengthen our ties with the HKCPsych and will provide an opportunity to establish further connections in the Asia–Pacific region.