I am thrilled to have been elected as the new President of the RCPsych, especially on such a high turnout. As RCPsych President, I will nurture and support psychiatrists – so we can retain and strengthen our workforce. I will address the treatment gap – and fight for resources to deliver therapeutic care. I will also ensure fairness for all – and tackle inequality for patients and for staff.
Dr Shubulade Smith CBE Consultant Psychiatrist at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and Visiting Senior Lecturer, IoPPN
19 January 2023
Dr Lade Smith CBE elected as the next President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists
Dr Lade Smith CBE has been elected as the next President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych) in a ballot which saw the highest turnout in a College Presidential election since at least 1996, with Dr Smith securing 54.1% (3,443) of the vote.
Dr Smith will become the 18th President of the RCPsych and will replace current President Dr Adrian James when he demits office on 11 July, at the College AGM, which is being held during the RCPsych International Congress in Liverpool. She will be the College’s first Black President and the fifth woman at the helm.
Dr Shubulade Smith is a Consultant Psychiatrist at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and a Visiting Senior Lecturer in the Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences (FANS) at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN), King’s College London. Dr Smith was awarded a CBE for services to forensic psychiatric intensive care in the Queen’s Birthday Honours 2019.
Dr Shubulade Smith is a consultant psychiatrist with 26 years’ experience in psychiatry – including 19 years at consultant level. Dr Smith was voted a BMA pioneering consultant and nominated as a Woman of the Year in 2002 for the development of her ‘One Stop Shop’, a medication review and physical monitoring clinic for people with mental health problems. She is known nationally and internationally for her work in the hormonal and reproductive effects of antipsychotic medications.
Dr Smith is a clinician with a strong academic focus, using the latest evidence to provide her patients with optimal care. She continues to do research at the IoPPN, looking at the effect of Vitamin D in reducing psychosis (D-FEND); sexual health in people with mental health problems (SHRINE) and culturally-adapted family interventions (CAFI).
Dr Smith is a clinical supervisor and trains junior psychiatrists. She is a Module Co-Lead for the MSc in Clinical Neurodevelopmental Science and also teaches regularly on the Maudsley MRCPsych training course (training psychiatric trainees); the IoPPN Doctorate in Clinical Psychology course (teaching trainee clinical psychologists) and teaches medical students from Guys, Kings and St Thomas’ (GKT) Medical School.
She is also an RCPsych Presidential Lead for Race and Equality and Clinical and Strategic Director with the College’s National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health (NCCMH).
Professor Sir Simon Wessely, Interim Executive Dean and former RCPsych President said:
I am absolutely delighted for Lade and this is a historic moment for the College. It was a very high turnout and a strong field. I am sure she will prove an outstanding leader and wish her well. And I hope that like her predecessors she also enjoys it. Well done!
Professor Sir Simon Wessely, Interim Executive Dean, Regius Professor of Psychiatry, IoPPN, King’s College London
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Visiting Senior Lecturer