Last year the COVID-19 pandemic meant that there could not be any face-to-face psychiatry placements for medical students at QMUL (Queen Mary University of London). This year there has been a return to face-to-face placements within psychiatric settings. The aim of this project was to evaluate whether face-to-face placements have an impact on medical student attitudes to psychiatry. This will have implications for recruiting students into the specialty, once they qualify.

128 students were placed in face-to-face psychiatric settings at the beginning of their 4th year of medical school. The placements were 3 days a week for 5 weeks. The placements varied with some students being placed in inpatient services and others within the community, across a broad range of subspecialties including child and adolescent, general adult and forensic. Students were given the Attitudes To Psychiatry Questionnaire to fill out before and after their placement. Students were also given the opportunity to provide open text feedback on their placement in the form of a weekly feedback form. Results were analysed using simple descriptives of data and paired t-tests. The study was conducted with permission from Associate Dean for Undergraduate Teaching and QMUL Centre Lead for Psychiatry.

115 students (89.8%) completed pre-placement attitudes to psychiatry questionnaire and 51 students (39.9%) completed the post-placement questionnaire.

Paired t-tests were used to compare average pre and post-placement results for individual questions. There were significant changes in student responses to questions about psychiatric undergraduate training being valuable, attitudes to psychiatrists and psychiatric treatment. Lots of students gave positive feedback on their placements citing interesting experiences, helpful seniors and varied learning opportunities.

Students having face-to-face psychiatry placements has objectively changed some attitudes to psychiatry and is very important for their experience and interest in the specialty. The students have valued the exposure and contact with patients and the varied experiences. This will hopefully lead to more students considering psychiatry as a career as well as keeping mental health as a priority for any patient that they see.

Aim: The quality improvement (QI) project aimed to improve the response rate of teaching feedback from medical students at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL). Background information: Universities and health care settings use students' feedback to improve the teaching and other services. The feedback is a valuable source to evaluate a service delivery and improvement. Following the COVID-19 pandemic a large majority of teaching switched to being held online. Feedback plays an important role in evaluating these new methods of teaching. However, response rates were noted to be low. This QI project aims to improve the response rate from students.

The project was registered on LifeQI and carried out during the psychiatric teaching for 4th year medical students at QMUL. The team emphasized the importance of feedback to students and produced online feedback forms which are mobile-friendly and concise. These were provided to students immediately after lectures and in an email reminder. As a change idea, five multiple choice practice questions from the topics of the day were included as a follow-on activity from the feedback form, with the expectation that this would motivate the students to complete the feedback. The response rate was calculated as a percentage (number of responses/number of attendees x 100%) and compared before and after the change was introduced using the independent t-test.

Introducing practice MCQs at the end of the feedback form resulted in a significant improvement: the response rate increased from 22.3% to 50%, more than doubled. The independent t-test found a significant increase in the number of feedback forms returned from the original rates (M = 13.8, SE = 3.0) to rates after practice questions were introduced into feedback (M = 30.6, SE = 1.7), t= -4.9 p = 0.001.

Students’ motivation to complete feedback plays a major role in the response rate of medical students’ feedback at QMUL. Adding five MCQs on the topics of the day to the feedback form has significantly increased the response rate of 4th year medical students at QMUL. This project was limited to 4th year medical students who received online psychiatric lectures. It is important to try other change ideas in future in order to compare the outcomes.

Psychiatric on-calls are often regarded as the most challenging aspect of core psychiatric training. This audit aimed to gain trainee feedback about on-calls at one of London's busiest mental health units, whether they were receiving adequate supervision for emergency and out of hours work and to design an intervention to improve on-call supervision experience for core and higher trainees.

A qualitative survey to assess the out of hours clinical experiences of trainees was conducted. The survey explored the following domains: trainees’ confidence in dealing with emergencies out of hours, quality of supervision and individual learning opportunities.

Results indicated low to moderate confidence levels among trainees in performing out of hours’ clinical tasks. The majority were of the opinion that further supervision for on-calls would be beneficial. 59% of trainees stated they struggled to complete work place based assessments (WPBAs) on out of hours cases. In view of the findings, a quality improvement framework was used to introduce a supervision group that gave trainees the opportunity to learn from their out of hours complex cases with a Consultant Psychiatrist as a chair. Following the implementation of the group, a qualitative survey revealed improved confidence, morale and training satisfaction among trainees. The results of the survey and feedback from trainees will be shared in details in the poster. This group has been running successfully for the last one year.

The introduction of an out of hours supervision group in busy mental health units can lead to an improvement in confidence and enable professional and educational development for trainees, which will also help improve overall morale as evidenced by this audit. Additional supervision and developing confidence of junior doctors in dealing with out of hours’ complex cases has enabled trainees to feel more supported and has led to increased training satisfaction at St Charles Hospital, London.

The transition between Core Psychiatry Training (CPT) and Psychiatry HTs is often anxiously anticipated by trainee psychiatrists, in view of the heightened responsibility and increased demand faced by trainees. The author wrote and delivered a one-day simulation induction course for newly appointed CAMHS HTs across London. The aim of this course was to improve participant's confidence, skills and knowledge in managing a range of conditions and challenging scenarios in children and young people (CYP) presenting to CAMHS. The course was also designed to improve HT's confidence in supporting junior colleagues and in managing conflict resolution. There was also an overarching aim of increasing human factor skills by focusing on these within the scenarios and debriefs.

The simulation training was delivered online and consisted of five scenarios commonly faced by CAMHS SPRs based in a variety of settings. Themes within the scenarios included eating disorders and deliberate self-harm, as well as managing risk, multiple demands, and the psychosocial factors contributing to mental illness. Professional actors, plants and virtual backgrounds were used to enhance fidelity of the scenarios. Platform orientation and an introduction to simulation were initially provided followed by “ice breaker” activities, which were used to promote psychological safety amongst participants. Each scenario lasted approximately 10 minutes. Following each scenario, participants were supported to engage in a debrief using the Maudsley Debrief model. Pre- and post-course evaluation questionnaires were given to participants to complete and comparative analysis was conducted.

Seven participants completed both the pre- and post- course evaluation questionnaires. The mean sum score for course specific questions was 51.86 (SD = 9.56) pre course, and 68.00 (SD = 10.08) post course, showing a 31.12% increase in knowledge, skills, and confidence across the course specific domains.

The mean sum score for the Human Factors Skills for Healthcare Instrument (HFSHI) was 76.67 (SD = 17.26) pre course, and 86.50 (SD = 16.54) post course, showing a 12.82% increase in human factors skills.

This simulation course demonstrated it is an effective and innovative way to help with induction for HT, resulting in an increase in knowledge, skills and confidence in trainees transitioning from CPT to HT, both in terms of factors specific to managing CYP's care and in relation to broader human factor skills.

Our aim is to measure the baseline physical and mental health early deterioration recognition of carers in the care home setting in Harrogate, North Yorkshire. This is part of a larger undergoing quality improvement project that looks at improving elderly care in care homes in the region by implementing a training package.

The approach was to contact local authorities, in this case, the NHS clinical commissioning group North Yorkshire to identify a struggling care home. We then engaged the care home and designated a leader to coordinate the project. We collected common themes by using focus groups with both carers and our professionals which led to the creation of a 16-item questionnaire covering deterioration literacy. Finally, we electronically and anonymously surveyed the carers (December 2021) and analysed the data via Google Forms.

We had 22 responses out of 30 possible. As an overview, 100% felt confident in recognizing deterioration, however, 31.8% don't feel confident in managing deterioration. 90.9% need tools to aid recognition, from which 45.5% find tools confusing. Only 50% feel confident to appropriately escalate the incident, from which 36.4% did not know when or to whom to escalate and 13.6% were not sure if escalation was needed but will refer to secondary care regardless. 27.3% think their escalation process needs improvement. When it comes to deterioration themes, 4.6% don't feel confident in identifying confusion, 13.6% feel their knowledge on confusion could be improved and 9.1% don't know how to identify, manage, or escalate confusion. 22.7% don't feel confident in identifying mobility decline and 9.1% don't know how to manage this accordingly. 9.1% feel like their knowledge of skin changes needs improvement. 22.7% feel that their confidence in identifying toilet habits could be improved and 4.5% don't know how to manage or escalate these changes. In terms of carers’ mental health, 50% and 13.6% have mild and moderate anxiety, respectively.

Deterioration recognition in the elderly is currently a hot topic. Recent studies highlight the need to improve deterioration management to minimize inappropriate referrals and admissions and unnecessary infection exposure of a vulnerable elderly individual. Our results show that besides improving the theoretical knowledge we also must think about a clear escalation process, an easy-to-read deterioration tool, and managing carers' anxiety as part of the training package.

We aimed to measure the baseline mental health literacy in Foundation Doctors in the Yorkshire and Humber area, identify any gaps in knowledge with the purpose of addressing these within the new foundation psychiatry teaching program, developed by North Yorkshire Health Education England.

In January 2021, a questionnaire comprising of O'Connor's Mental Health Literacy Scale was sent electronically to all Foundation Doctors in the York and Humber area, that were in a placement at that time. The O'Connor's Mental Health Literacy Scale (MHLS) has been used since its publication in 2015 and is a 35 item, univariate scale that demonstrated good internal and test-retest reliability. It covers the following attributes: a) ability to identify disorders, b) knowledge about seeking information, risk factors and etiology, self-treatment, resources and support available, c) attitudes about mental disorders and seeking professional help. The anonymized data were collected and analysed in Microsoft Excel.

In total, we received 49 responses to the questionnaire. Overall, 85% of respondents demonstrated good mental health literacy. Breaking this down further, 91% demonstrated knowledge of core psychiatric diagnostic criteria, 68.4% were literate in etiology and risk factors, 92% and respectively 95.9% understand what resources for treatment and professional help are available. Importantly when looking at attitudes about mental disorders overall 17% of respondents showed a degree of stigma and barriers in seeking professional help. For example, 2% strongly agreed that mental health conditions are not real illnesses, 34.7% were unsure whether people with mental illness are dangerous, 40.9% neither agreed nor disagreed they would move next door with someone with a mental illness and 14.3% would not be willing to have someone with a mental illness marrying into the family. When looking at barriers to seeking help, 12% answered they would not tell someone if they had a mental health problem, with 16.3% unsure whether they would tell someone if they had a mental health problem.

Overall, our survey demonstrated good mental health literacy in our cohort, however, there are areas of improvement, the main ones being etiology, risk factors, and attitudes towards mental health. It is important to recognize these deficits, as they have been linked with poor health outcomes and barriers in seeking and providing care. Moving forward, standardization of teaching programs and anti-stigma training could be an evidence-based approach to tackling these issues.

COVID-19 has resurfaced health inequalities but also provides new opportunities for remote healthcare. Minority ethnic service users (SUs) are substantially under-represented in secondary mental health services due to gaps in understanding needs of this priority group. We aimed to assess and identify any differences in characteristics and acceptability, with a focus on minority ethnic mental health SUs.

A prospective, online feedback questionnaire was developed with the help of SUs. This was built into video consultations (VCs), using the secure Attend Anywhere platform through a survey link. We present results between July 2020 and January 2022, during which, a total of 2,565 SUs completed the online questionnaire after VCs. SPSS (version 27) was used for descriptive statistical analysis. Chi-squared test, using 5% level of significance, was conducted to test differences between the two (minority Vs majority ethnic) SU groups.

Of 2,565 SUs, 119 (4.6%) were from minority ethnic groups (Asian British, Mixed/multiple, Black British, and Other), 2,398 (93.5%) were White British, and 48 (1.9%) preferred not to disclose. A higher percentage of SUs were females from both minority (55.6%) and White British (66.1%) ethnic groups (ϰ2=5.476, p < 0.05). By age group, almost half (48.7%) of minority ethnic SUs were less than 25 years old, compared with those from White British ethnicity (29.2%). In contrast, only 2.5% minority ethnic SUs were aged ≥65 years with none ≥80 years old (ϰ2 Likelihood Ratio = 27.11, p < 0.001).

No significant differences were found for video technical quality, such as waiting area, joining the video call, sound, and video quality. Similar findings were observed for video care delivery aspects with no significant differences between (minority ethnic and White British) SUs. Overall, both groups felt comfortable during the video call (ϰ2=0.137, p > 0.05), their needs were met (ϰ2=0.384, p > 0.05) and felt supported (ϰ2=0.164, p > 0.05). However, according to care team, a significantly higher percentage of minority ethnic SUs (43%) had remotely consulted Specialist (Eating disorders, Well-being/IAPT) services compared with those of majority ethnicity (29%) (ϰ2 Likelihood Ratio = 21.936, p < 0.05).

Both minority ethnic and White British SUs found video care to be acceptable, with positive experiences. A significantly high proportion of minority ethnic SUs was younger and had remotely consulted Specialist services, with none in the 80-plus age group. These findings highlight priority areas to address among this massively underrepresented group in mental healthcare services.

Public Health England published a report in 2017 on Obesity in Secure Mental Health units. A key finding of the review was that not only is obesity and overweight more prevalent in the population detained within mental health secure units (with rates of up to 80% reported) than in the general population (around 60%), patients appear to be more at risk of weight gain when detained. The report found evidence that there is a high risk of weight gain following admission, stemming from the combined effects of incarceration, ease of access to high calorific food, and the potential lack of access to recommended levels of physical activity. This project aims to; 1. Implement a traffic light system on food and confectionaries sold at the shop at a Medium secure hospital. 2. Provide healthier food options at the shop by using the traffic light system as a visual aid 3. To achieve weight reduction and promote healthy lifestyle choices in patients admitted to our medium secure Forensic unit.

1. 1. Buying a new till system which is able to quantify what type of food is sold.

2. 2. Labelling food sold using a traffic light system.

3. 3. Calculate types of food sold following a three-month period after implementation.

1. 1. Traffic light system provides a visual aid to patients in choosing healthier food.

2. 2. Patients in our medium secure unit achieve a reduction in their weight.

3. 3. Traffic light system can be replicated/ adopted by other secure hospitals.

The purpose of this research is to implement a traffic light system on food sold at a shop in our medium secure unit. It is hoped that by providing visual aids, patients have a means of easily identifying healthier food options. Choosing healthier food we hope will consequently result in weight reduction and overall improved lifestyle choices.

This study sought to assess mental health status of high school students in Khartoum State, to evaluate the participants’ adherence to COVID-19 preventive measures and to identify factors associated with commitment to COVID-19 guidelines and mental health status during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This was a descriptive, cross-sectional and institution-based study. 364 post-primary students in 10 schools were selected by multistage stratified cluster sampling. Mental health status was evaluated using the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). Chi-square testing was used to identify influencing factors of mental health status and commitment to practicing COVID-19 preventive measures.

A median commitment score of 2/5 was achieved. 70.8% of students in this study demonstrated low commitment (< 50%) to practicing COVID-19 preventive guidelines. Commitment to COVID-19 preventive measures was significantly associated with gender (p = 0.047), academic year (p = 0.033) and post-primary schools attended by the participants (p < 0.001). 36.5% of the participants’ GHQ-12 scores demonstrated severe psychological distress (GHQ-12 > 20/36). A mean GHQ-12 score of 18.4 and median of 19 was achieved, indicating moderate to severe psychological distress. GHQ-12 scores were significantly associated with incidence of COVID-19 infection among family members (p = 0.016).

Over one-third of high school students in Khartoum State demonstrated moderate to severe psychological distress as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which was significantly associated with first-degree family members having a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis. Commitment to preventive measures set by the General Directorate of Global Health was significantly associated with gender and academic year. A lesser psychological impact could be achieved through timely health education, expression of confidence in professional healthcare providers and perception of sound health status, together with consistent public health campaigning.

Smartphone addiction is a new concern due to its progressive global usage. Since this phenomenon occurs in adolescents and young people, especially in students, causing many problems in interpersonal relationships, occupational and educational performances, evaluation of smartphone addiction in this population seems to be necessary. Accordingly, this study aimed to examine the prevalence of smartphone addiction in Tehran university students for determining the risk factors associated with this issue.

This analytical cross-sectional survey was carried out on university students in Tehran between 2016–2018. A study sample of 382 students from various faculties of Tehran universities was chosen by random multi-stage cluster sampling. The participants simultaneously completed a researcher-made questionnaire on demographic characteristics and risk factors, the Smartphone Addiction Scale (SAS), and Young's Internet Addiction Test (IAT). After checking the smartphone addiction questionnaire, smartphone-addicted individuals were identified, and a comparison with the non-addicted group was performed in terms of risk factors.

In this study, the participants were given written consent forms. Questionnaires were anonymous and the information was kept confidential. This study was registered at the Ethics Committee of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences with a code of 1395,309.

Our findings indicated that the frequency of smartphone addiction was 28.8%. The frequency of smartphone addiction in women (32.5%) was higher than that in men (23%) (p = 0.04). The highest incidence of smartphone addiction occurred in the age range of less than 20 while the lowest was found above the age of 40. (P = 0.001). The prevalence of smartphone addiction in the single population was 34.1% Vs 16.1% in married. (P = 0.000) The most prominent educational field of smartphone addicts was technical and engineering. (P = 0.007). Smartphone addiction was significantly more in internet service and social networking users. (P = 0.025) There was a significant relationship between the history of psychiatric illness and smartphone addiction. (P = 0.035) The most common psychiatric diseases were found to be obsessive-compulsive disorder (41.7%), followed by anxiety disorders. (33.3%)

Smartphone addiction has a significant frequency among university students in Tehran, associated with access to internet services and social networking. It was more common in women, single adults, and younger ages. There was a significant relationship between the history of psychiatric illness and smartphone addiction. The highest frequency of psychiatric illnesses in the addiction group was obsessive-compulsive disorder and anxiety disorders. No relationship was found between smartphone addiction and history of substance use, as well as smoking and alcohol.

Although there is an established but complex relationship between violence and psychosis, the nature of this relationship remains unclear. To date, there has been a predominant focus within group-level quantitative studies on specific types of psychopathology such as threat/control-override and command hallucinations. However, the literature has not produced a consensus on the profile of psychopathological predictors of violence. Furthermore, there is an emerging literature suggesting the predictive paradigm has limited clinical utility in the management of harm-related behaviour. In the way that phenomenological analysis has produced a fuller understanding of psychosis (that can inform improved aetiological and interventional frameworks), the authors assert that such an approach (with its focus on subjectivity) has the potential to advance our understanding of the relationship between psychosis and violence in a way that has clinical applicability. To test this assertion, it is necessary to develop a model of assessment and analysis. The aim of this paper is to develop an evidence-based model to explore the phenomenological underpinnings of violence in psychosis.

A two-stage method was followed. Firstly, drawing on existing phenomenological accounts of psychosis and approaches to understanding the subjectivity of violence perpetration, the authors developed a pilot evaluation model. This was tested and revised by applying the model to phenomenological case reports of psychosis and violence.

The findings so far demonstrate that as well as the role of circumscribed psychopathology on the likelihood of violence, other experiences within the psychotic spectrum such as operative hyperreflexivity and disturbances of ipseity play an important role. Additionally, feelings of disconnectedness and loss of recognising others as real combined with impaired theory of mind can lead to loss of normal inhibitory processes and violent behaviour. In keeping with a recent shift in focus from strict diagnostic criteria to individual psychotic phenomena, existential analysis can be applied to explore changes in self-identity and sense of belonging in the world to develop our understanding of the association between psychosis and violence.

The phenomenological model developed produces a fuller picture of the association between psychosis and violence. As such it may generate insight into the association between psychosis and violence that has greater clinical utility than existing psychopathology-based theories do. This needs to be evaluated by field testing of the approach.

Our purpose-built dementia unit investigates temperature and Behavioural and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD). We sought to control for diurnality. Sundown Syndrome (SS) is emergence or worsening of BPSD in the late afternoon or early evening. The literature affords debate. Our methods of controlling for time as a confounder for temperature generated contributions which we offer here.

Data were collected from two Older People's Organic wards within the Cumbria, Northumberland Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust. Collection used the Trust's “Talk First” data system. That is an established, verified record, including “aggression” (non-contact) or “violence” (contact). Data from 16 months, September 2019 to January 2021 were analysed.

Patients had moderate or severe dementia. Wards care for a maximum of 14 patients and serve either men or women. Data for the communal corridor and day room of each ward were analysed. This gave four site

We used two methods. The first was basic, the overall histogram of incidents through the day.

The second analysis counts “incident signals” from each time or temperature. Each actual occurring combination of temperature and time is assigned a “cell”. The background rate of all incidents per all cells is known. Any incident in any rare cell has low binomial probability. Low probabilities mean high “signal”. The square of sums of signals across each hour provides each hour's “incident signal”.

Median ages were 79 (women) and 82 (men). There were 99 incidents.

The histogram has two peaks, around lunchtime and evening. Late afternoon is relatively safe. Thermal incident signals are summarised as moderately coherent. Diurnal incident signals controlling for temperature did not show any coherent trend.

We proffer approaches for controlling for temperature and time of day. The project has limits. We have a small sample. We have not compared sunset times; but that is not relevant to the mid-day peak. We present secondary data from an evaluation aimed at temperature. More favourably this is an a priori sample, shows the same thing is two ways, and adds to debate on an important and critiqued construct. Though SS uses “sun” as a shorthand, any effect will be mediated bio-psychosocially via light, social interaction, heat, circadian rhythms, etc. Our data support social interaction more than time of day. This may add to or challenge SS as a construct.

Among various factors that determine an individual's self-esteem, parenting styles play a very significant role in this regard. Certain parenting styles that are practiced around the globe include authoritarian, authoritative and permissive parenting. The study aimed to investigate the co-relation between parenting styles and self-esteem among medical students.

A cross-sectional study was conducted among the MBBS students of Rawalpindi Medical University, Rawalpindi from December 2020 to March 2021. 255 students took part in this study. An online survey was prepared by using Parental Authority Questionnaire-Short Version and Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and students were asked to fill it. Simple Random sampling technique was applied. SPSS version 26.0 was used to enter and analyze data. Pearson Correlation, Logistic regression and Hierarchal regression analysis were applied.

Out of 230, 60% of the sample population experienced authoritative, 29% experienced authoritarian whereas 11% experienced permissive style of parenting. Authoritative (r = 0.283, p < 0.001) and authoritarian (r = -0.227, p < 0.001) parenting styles were significantly correlated with self-esteem. Authoritarian parenting style (AOR = 2.20, 95% CI: 1.17, 4.14) was significantly associated with self-esteem of the participants compared to authoritative parenting style.

Results indicated that authoritative parenting was only parenting style that correlates positively with self-esteem which suggest authoritative parenting is the optimum parenting style in Pakistani culture.

COVID-19 imposed lockdowns have impacted the mental health of medical students worldwide. However, the relationship of social anxiety disorder with psychological distress during the pandemic has not been studied. The objective of this study was to assess the association of social anxiety disorder and physical activity with psychological distress in medical students during COVID-19 imposed lockdown.

256 medical students (M/F: 144/112) took part in this online cross-sectional survey conducted in September 2020 during a government imposed lockdown. Kessler-10 (K10) questionnaire, social interaction anxiety scale (SIAS) and international physical activity questionnaire (IPAQ) - short form were used to assess psychological distress, social anxiety and physical activity, respectively. Data were analysed using SPSS v25, with application of multivariate logistic regression to assess association of various factors with psychological distress.

Out of 256 medical students, 73 (28.5%) had severe psychological distress and 105 (41.0%) had mild to moderate distress. A logistic regression model to assess the effect of social anxiety disorder, level of physical activity and gender with the likelihood of having severe psychological distress was statistically significant (p < 0.001) with overall accuracy of 73.8%. The risk of developing severe psychological distress was higher among females [OR 2.13 (95% CI 1.17–3.87), p = 0.013] and those with social anxiety disorder [OR 4.56 (95% CI 2.27–9.16), p < 0.001]. Low physical activity was not a significant risk factor for psychological distress [OR 0.88 (95% CI 0.35–2.23), p = 0.794].

This study shows that COVID-19 imposed lockdown has adversely affected the mental health of medical students. Female students and those with social anxiety disorder are at more risk of developing severe psychological distress.

Patient and public involvement and engagement (PPIE) is recognised as an essential part of health research. It provides an opportunity for patients to shape health research and acquire research skills, in the inpatient mental health setting, PPIE may have additional value in providing meaningful activity and enhancing recovery, as defined using connectedness, hope, identity, meaning and empowerment (CHIME) principles. An eight -session PPIE programme (“Discovery Group”) was designed to support patient-led research in a secure mental health hospital. This feasibility study aims to evaluate the acceptability of the programme from the perspective of patients and identify potential outcomes.

A retrospective single-arm post-programme evaluation of Discovery Group was undertaken. Participants attended an evaluation workshop where they were interviewed individually to complete an acceptability questionnaire designed using the domains of the Theoretical Framework of Acceptability. Participants also completed an outcomes questionnaire, which included CHIME-based recovery items. Quantitative data were analysed descriptively. Direct content analysis was applied to qualitative data.

In our sample, eight participants attended at least one session of the discovery group with one patient attending all sessions. Most of the participants felt positive about taking part in the group and expressed interest in joining another group in future. All participants experienced some burden from the effort required during group sessions, but a low level of opportunity cost in terms of the extent to which they perceived they had to forfeit benefits to participate in the programme.Some described the group as effective in helping them learn about research. Of the five CHIME recovery domains, only connectedness was reported as a benefit of the group. The participants valued the opportunity to use their time.

Discovery Group is a novel intervention that offers high level, non-tokenistic PPIE suitable for use in secure mental health inpatient settings. It produces research of value to patients through a programme of high acceptability and provides them with potential benefits of recovery as well as research knowledge and skills, and an activity that alleviates boredom, enhances autonomy, breaks down some important power and paternalistic barriers that can be experienced by patients detained in secure mental health settings. Finally, a future evaluation study that involves patients during the design, implementation, evaluation and writing stages, aiming to measure the potential outcomes identified in the present study using pre- and post-testing with a control group would reliably demonstrate the effectiveness of the revised Discovery Group and ensure meaningful involvement with patients as co-researchers.

The dearth of emotional intelligence leads to medical students’ inability to handle the pressures of medical education, sub-sequently causing burnout and mental illnesses. Poor emotional intelligence in young doctors also begets increased mistrust from the public, lowering the quality of healthcare delivery. Emotional intelligence of Pakistani students, similar to global context, is impacted by a myriad of psycho-socio-economic factors. It is pertinent to find out the detrimental and/or protective factors, and design interventions to enhance emotional intelligence as a soft skill. With this aim in mind, we explored the relationship of emotional intelligence with adverse childhood experiences and prevalent mental illnesses (depression and anxiety) amongst the medical students of one of the most populous cities of Pakistan; Lahore.

A cross-sectional study was conducted including currently enrolled MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery) students from first year to final year in 2 medical schools of Lahore. An online google form was constructed by combining Modified Adverse Childhood Experiences Score Scale (ACES), Brief Emotional Intelligence Scale (BEIS-10) and Hospital Depression and Anxiety Scale (HADS). Data were exported to SPSS version 25.0 for descriptive and analytical analysis. Pearson's chi-square analysis and logistic regression analysis were used to study the association between the outcome and dependent variables; Odd's ratio (OR) with 95% Confidence Intervals (CI) were calculated.

Participants (N = 324) belonging to two different medical colleges in Lahore, namely King Edward Medical College (public) and Shalamar Medical and Dental College (private), took part in the study.

Pearson's chi-square showed significant association of emotional intelligence with early private schooling (p = 0.029), nuclear family system (0.044) and the presence of symptoms of depression (0.005). The adjusted logistic regression model showed that people who studied in a private sector school (OR: 2.12, CI: 1.01–4.45) and people who lived in a nuclear family (OR: 2.02, CI: 1.00–4.08) had significantly twice the likelihood of having high emotional intelligence. Also noteworthy is that respondents who were depressed according to HADS showed significantly lower emotional intelligence (OR: 0.37, CI: 0.16–0.86)

Emotional intelligence is now being recognized as an important life skill for healthcare providers. Emotional intelligence of medical undergraduates is influenced by a number of factors such as early schooling, family's living situation, current mental health and adverse childhood experiences. More prospective researches should be conducted to evaluate these relationships. Carefully crafted interventions for improving emotional intelligence for medical students must be implied at an early level to achieve better outcomes from medical education.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the associated impact on the NHS led to particular challenges for Intellectual Disability (ID) inpatient hospitals across the country. The aim of this Research Project is to gather the experience of Inpatient staff in our local ID Hospital following the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic in July 2020.

We gathered data by means of survey from inpatient staff including ‘staff nurses’ and ‘health care support workers’ from 2 cute assessment and treatment units and 1 rehabilitation unit over the preceding 3 months. We obtained 15 responses. We gathered quantitative data via a questionnaire on the views of staff regarding the service provision for patients and staff during COVID-19. We also gathered qualitative data on learning points and how things would have been done differently in hindsight.

The responses were anonymised, directly transcribed, coded and grouped into themes. 67% of staff stated appropriate type and quantity of Personal Protective Equipment was available. 60% of staff stated it was ‘easy’ to access a General Practitioner for patient reviews. 60% of staff stated, there was a change in arrangements for Do Not Resuscitate/Escalation plans during COVID-19. 47% of staff stated there was availability of virtual or face-to-face clinical training support. 67% of staff did not take sickness leave due to symptoms or contact with a COVID-19 patient. 67% of staff did not receive or found it difficult to access a COVID-19 test. 47% of staff reported a negative impact of the pandemic on their physical and mental health well being. 13% of staff found the Counselling/emotional Support helpful.

Some of the key themes that emerged in the qualitative data analysis included the importance of being grateful for personal health and well being, move lives could be saved if earlier and more frequent testing was available during the first wave, delays in the arrival of PPE in the hospital and ideas to mitigate risk by designating members of staff to a fixed work area to reduce mixing.

A wide range of reflections, suggestions and feedback were obtained during the research project which will be helpful to plan and organise services moving forward should future waves of COVID-19 emerge.

To compare characteristics, presentation and treatment of care home patients referred to care home pathway team during three lockdowns.

Data were collected from referrals to G&W care home pathway team during lock downs:

First: 23rd March 2020 to 30th June 2020

Second: 5th November 2020 to 2nd December 2020

Third: 5th January 2021 to 8th March 2021

Variables collected included number of referrals, age, gender, type of care home, reason for referral, type of behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD), diagnosis, new diagnosis of dementia, comorbidity, type and professional to make initial contact, blood tests at point of referral, appointments, duration on caseload, type of interventions for BPSD, admission, and use of antipsychotics. They were analysed for statistical significance at p value <0.05.

There were 23, 21 and 34 referrals respectively in the three lockdowns, with significant reduction in the weekly average of referrals (1.6), and number of men (17.4%) referred in the first lockdown. Significantly greater proportion of referrals in first lockdown was for BPSD (65.2%), with aggression (40%) as most common BPSD. Alzheimer's dementia was commonest dementia (67%) across lockdowns with fewer new diagnosis (21.7%) made in first lockdown. There was lower rate of delirium (21.7%) in fist lockdown associated with fewer blood investigations (56.5%) at point of referral. Although there was no difference by type of professional, number of appointments, and discharges, duration on caseload (median 58.5 days) was significantly longer during first lockdown. There was access to medical, nursing, and psychological therapies input during all lockdowns. There was reduction in medication prescription including antipsychotics (33%), with no new antipsychotics commenced in all lockdowns.

Despite availability of mental health services, this study highlights reduction in access to mental health services as well as physical health investigations for elderly residents in care homes during the first lockdown.

This study analyses the progression of psychiatric symptoms over time of young people with special educational needs (SEN). The aims of this study were: 1) To examine whether the presence of psychiatric symptoms in earlier life are more likely to impact functional outcomes in later life in those with SEN; 2) Whether the presence of psychiatric symptoms in adolescence predicts functional outcomes in early adult life.

Data were obtained from the Edinburgh Study of Comorbidity (ESC) which was a longitudinal follow-up study of adolescents with SEN. This study had ethical approval from the Multicentre Research Ethics Committee for Scotland. It involved head teachers of 99 schools around Scotland identifying pupils aged 13–22 years whom they would estimate as functioning in the borderline to mild intellectual disability range (estimated IQ between 50–80) and were therefore receiving special educational assistance.

Adolescents with SEN were assessed with the Clinical Interview Schedule (CIS) to evaluate the presence of psychiatric symptoms. A total of 247 individuals with SEN were recruited to the study. They completed the CIS at baseline (T1), 1–2 years later (T2) and 6 years later (T3). At T3, the participants also completed the World Health Organisation Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0 (WHO-DAS) to measure the degree of functional impairment. Correlation statistical analyses were carried out to find whether there was a significant relationship between CIS and total WHO-DAS scores.

There was a statistically significant correlation between total WHO-DAS score with slowness and anxiety symptoms (p values 0.008 and 0.024 respectively) measured on the CIS at T1. None of the symptoms measured on CIS at T2 had a statistically significant correlation with total WHO-DAS score. With the symptoms that were significant, after application of a Bonferroni correction, none of the symptoms measured on CIS had a statistically significant correlation at any time point with total WHO-DAS score.

Our results show that there is some evidence that anxiety and slowness in adolescence are associated with greater functional impairment in young adulthood. However, further research is required to confirm this relationship. Our data highlight the potential value of identification and treatment of psychiatric symptoms in early adolescence.

The full impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is yet to be determined, but it is likely to have had a significant influence on the development of young people, especially those with mental health conditions such as Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). This study aims to investigate the change in symptoms and whether these were linked to COVID-19/lockdown, as well as the treatment and support received.

The Mood and Anxiety team for West Kent were contacted to request patients with a diagnosis of OCD. A total of 16 patients were included (12–18 years, 63% female), as they were known to services prior to March 2020. Data were retrospectively collected by searching electronic notes between September 2018 and October 2021 to identify patient demographics, OCD symptoms and severity (and whether this had been affected by COVID-19/lockdown), and if they were receiving medication and therapy. It was noted whether questionnaires had been completed, and how frequently patients were contacted by CAMHS.

75% of young people reported increasing OCD symptoms after March 2020. Of the patients who reported an increase in symptoms, nearly half (47%) explicitly attributed this to either the COVID-19 pandemic or lockdown. Prior to March 2020, 31% of patients were receiving medication for OCD, this increased to 69% of patients between March 2020 and September 2021. 31% of patients were undergoing therapy for OCD prior to March 2020, and over the following 18 months, 50% were receiving therapy, with the remainder of patients on the waiting list. The most common therapy was CBT. Prior to March 2020, 13% of patients had completed questionnaires relevant to OCD, which increased to 44% between March 2020-Septermber 2021. Patients were contacted more frequently via CAMHS post-March 2020 (62.5% vs 25%), but the method of contact switched to mainly remote methods.

Overall, there was an increase in OCD symptoms during the pandemic, with a proportion of patients identifying either COVID-19 or lockdown as contributing factors. The number of patients receiving both psychological and pharmacological therapy for OCD increased. There were low numbers of patients completing questionnaires for OCD, which would be a useful way to identify changes in symptoms across patients. Contact from mental health services increased during the pandemic, although this shifted to virtual formats. This suggests that CAMHS need to prepare for the possible increasing need for services due to the pandemic and provide support targeted to those with OCD.