The College Strategic Plan 2005–2010 includes a proposal to harness in a more systematic way the considerable influence of medical directors, and through them to work more effectively with healthcare managers. Peter Kennedy, a former medical manager, chief executive and co-director of the prototype for the National Institute of Mental Health for England (NIMHE) regional development centres was elected Vice-President by Council in January 2006 to lead this initiative.

The founding meeting of the Medical Directors’ Executive (MDE) took place on 6 April and defined terms of reference. Each Division will have two medical director nominations to the MDE, one as main member and one as deputy. The MDE will advise the President and College on key issues that need to be taken forward at College level. The College will be more influential working in partnership with other interested bodies where collaboration can be mutually beneficial. Links have already been formed with the National Mental Health Partnership of Chief Executives, NIMHE, British Association of Medical Managers, and the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement.

Important issues were highlighted at this first meeting of the MDE. These included the need for development of medical directors and their supporting medical management structures in order to better support consultants in handling the impact on service delivery of the reforms (foundation trusts, choice, practice-based commissioning, and payment by results). Since national guidance on New Ways of Working makes it clear that leadership of multidisciplinary teams is not the exclusive right of any one profession, another concern was how to ensure adequate training in team leadership for specialist registrars and consultants. It was proposed that further work may be needed to define the indispensable, non-transferable contributions of psychiatrists to mental health services in order to encourage members of the College to hone their skills in these areas.

The Vice-President and MDE will draw on the intelligence and work of a much-wider network of medical managers in mental health services. Steve Choong, Chairman of the College Management Special Interest Group, will be an ex officio member of the MDE. He will coordinate and transmit advice of the special interest group’s wider membership of medical managers through the MDE to the central College Executive Committee (which has replaced the College Council). Anyone interested in joining the special interest group or learning more about its work should contact Ian Davidson, Honorary Secretary (email: ian.davidson@cwpnt.nhs.uk). Membership is not restricted to those holding management positions but is open to anyone interested in leadership and management issues in mental health and learning disability services.

In addition, there are flourishing local networks of medical managers working in some College Divisions on how to implement new ways of working. Peter Kennedy would welcome discussion with medical directors/managers who are interested in developing similar local networks where none yet exists (email: peter@kennedy89.freeserve.co.uk).

To launch and shape how this College-wide network will develop, an overnight stay and day workshop for medical directors is planned for 12 December in York. A larger event for all medical managers and clinical leaders in mental health services is a possibility for next year.

We are currently trying to establish an accurate database of contact addresses for medical directors. We are particularly concerned to include ‘ heads of psychiatry’ in mental health services that do not have a medical director who is a psychiatrist. This is especially likely in Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. Any medical director or equivalent who has not been contacted directly with details about the workshop in December please send your details to Eva Davison (email: edavison@nyorkdiv.rcpsych.ac.uk).