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The College |
Agenda
John Bowis OBE MEP
Mr Bowis is a dedicated career politician, who has consistently
demonstrated commitment to mental health issues, firstly as a Member of
Parliament committed to constituency issues, secondly as a government Minister
for Health when he held the mental health portfolio for 3 years, thirdly as a
full-time consultant to the World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating
Centre at the Institute of Psychiatry and now as a Member of the European
Parliament. He gives his time freely to the mental health cause, within the
European Parliament, within the UK and across the world. He has been an active
contributor to a number of College conferences and events. Some examples of
mental health initiatives during his time as Minister for Health include: the
Homeless Mentally Ill Initiative, which set up outreach teams and hostels, and
the inquiry into mental health of Black people in the UK. Mr Bowis launched
the Spectrum of Care, conferences of users and purchasers in 24-hour nursed
care; the medium secure beds expansion of the Glancy Report; and the suicide
prevention strategy, and departmental support of the Defeat Depression
Campaign. He has raised the profile of child and adolescent mental health and
secured significant increases in funding for mental health services; he
reviewed the future of high-security hospitals and the care of people with
personality disorder and took a number of initiatives to improve the care of
people with learning disabilities. While supporting the WHO global campaigns
on mental health and on epilepsy, he opened doors to Health Ministers in
various parts of the world and helped mental health professionals influence
the health priorities of their governments. John Bowis is a great ally for
mental health, who has played a substantial role in stimulating international
and national political will to improve mental health services throughout the
world.
Lord Melvyn Bragg
The work of Lord Melvyn Bragg, FRSL, DLitt, MA, FRTS, television presenter,
novelist and broadcaster, and currently President of MIND, will be very
familiar to most people. Lord Bragg's name is synonymous with the arts in
general. He has worked in broadcasting since 1961 and is currently Controller
of Arts and Features at London Weekend Television (LWT), Editor and Presenter
of The South Bank Show and Executive Producer of several other arts'
strands. He also writes for numerous publications. He is President of the
National Campaign for the Arts, a Governor of the London School of Economics
and Political Science and Chancellor of Leeds University. He was made a Life
Peer in 1998. In 2001, he won the Prix Italia Special Award for 25 seasons of
The South Bank Show and, among many other achievements, has received
Honorary Doctorates and Fellowships from numerous academic organisations.
Lord Bragg has been involved with MIND in Carlisle for 16 years and became President of the national organisation in 2001. His awareness of the distress experienced by those with mental illness and of the stigma surrounding mental health has strengthened his resolve to campaign on mental health issues in the House of Lords and to raise awareness of the extent of the problem.
Professor John Cox
Professor John Cox can be justifiably singled out as an individual whose
contribution has been exceptionally distinguished across various medical
disciplines. His activities have been extremely wide-ranging over a very long
period covering research, teaching and service delivery, and he has made
significant contributions to the development of the Department of Psychiatry
and the postgraduate school in the advancement of science, teaching and
research at Keele University. As the Chairman of its Department of Psychiatry
for two periods, he has developed various specialities in the field of mental
health, and colleagues in the NHS consider his contribution to be remarkable
among other professors of psychiatry in the UK. He gained a national
reputation for his interest and research in perinatal and transcultural
psychiatry in the 1980s, and a sustained output of research papers and
teaching activity secured his international reputation by the early 1990s. His
national and international fame was subsequently enhanced by his election to
the Presidency of the Marce Society, an international organisation for the
prevention and treatment of perinatal illness. Professor Cox has also
developed the Diploma and MSc in General Psychiatry at Keele University which
is highly regarded by trainee psychiatrists from around the world. In 1992, he
was elected Dean of the College and served in this capacity with the utmost
capability and distinction. In 1999, he was elected President of the College.
As President he made his mark by being one of the most approachable,
innovative, forward-looking leaders of the profession who led the College in
the globalisation of mental health. Professor Cox was recently elected as
Secretary General of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA).
Dr Pearl Hettiaratchy, OBE
Pearl Hettiaratchy has brought distinction to herself, the College and the
psychiatric profession through her contributions to the NHS over a period of
30 years. Her primary contributions have been within the field of old age
psychiatry, where she has pioneered the establishment and development of
services, first in Portsmouth and later in Winchester. She has enthused others
and educated people of many backgrounds to achieve good practice. She has been
determined and devoted in her work; brave and selfless, never fearing to take
unpopular stances when she knew these to be in the interests of her patients
who were not able to speak for themselves. By her activities and her example,
she has improved the lot of old people with mental illness, and their
families, and those who work with them professionally. She has advised
Ministers in the UK and in Sri Lanka on the needs of such services and is a
tireless supporter of charities in the field. She has remained active in
medico-legal matters and in medical politics; her advice and opinion is
respected on a range of issues including those arising in multi-ethnic
populations, the ethics of health care and the identification and support of
doctors in difficulty. Dr Hettiaratchy has long been involved with College
activities and has also served as Vice-President. She retired from active
professional work this year, but continues a busy diary of advisory and
voluntary work.
Dr Benedetto Saraceno
Dr Benedetto Saraceno is a psychiatrist known internationally for his
contribution to the advancement of mental health. After receiving his
post-doctoral degree in psychiatry, he subsequently gained a qualification in
Public Health and Epidemiology from the Mario Negri Institute for
Pharmacological Research, Milan, where he became Chief of the Psychiatric Unit
— the beginning of a very distinguished career. During the 1990s, he
contributed to a number of WHO projects in countries in South and Latin
America, which eventually led to his appointment as Head of the Laboratory of
Epidemiology and Social Psychiatry and Director of the WHO Collaborating
Centre for Research and Training in Mental Health at the Mario Negri
Institute. He also worked in Geneva as Programme Manager in the Division of
Mental Health and Prevention of Substance Abuse at the WHO. With the
reorganisation of the WHO, he was appointed Director of the Department of
Mental Health. He convinced the WHO to designate 2001 as the WHO Mental Health
Year, and to dedicate the World Health Report of 2001 to mental
health. This was the first time that mental health attained such a prominent
position in the WHO Programme of Action. His initiative led to a memorandum of
understanding between the College and WHO for research training fellowships.
In 2001, Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland, Director General of the WHO, addressed the
annual conference of the College and presented the outline of the WHO report
for the first time in a public forum, with an invitation for closer
collaboration between the WHO and the College.
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| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
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