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Sunday, July 8, 2012

Professional clinical and educational views addressed to Royal College of Psychiatrists


To whom it may concern:
I am greatly concerned about the decision to close the Bristol Psychopharmacology Unit.

My learning disability patients do not directly access the clinic but I have sought the expertise of the clinicians who have run the clinic over the years. The problems addressed are the complex prescribing issues, and I am sure knowledge emanating from this unit has prevented costly assessments and admissions around Bristol (often a hidden benefit).

I hope urgent discussions about the planned closure can take place.
Yours sincerely
Dr Helen Sharrard
Consultant Psychiatrist in Learning Disability, S Glos

From the perspective of the School of psychiatry this loss will impact significantly on the training of psychiatrists & will significantly reduce an important research resource, used by many trainees over a long period. It will also mean that the concentrated expertise in dealing with difficult to manage cases will be lost in the region & we may need to refer more often to the Maudsley and other specialist centres, a great distance from the SW. Trainees may also need to gain specialist experience through placement out of the Deanery as a result.
I hope it is possible for this unit to be retained in some capacity for the future.
Yours,
Rob Macpherson, Head of School of Psychiatry, Severn Deanery.

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