This is what you missed at last month’s Psychiatry Congress in Hobart

After a year without events and changes to how we all live and work, it was fantastic to get back to some normality and finally catch up with many of our Psychiatry doctors at the eagerly anticipated RANZCP 2021 Congress in Hobart.

Our Psychiatry team, Stephen Bryant, Julie Hou, Yasmin Lockey and Melissa Welsh, felt the “buzz and excitement” from the doctors throughout the conference!

Reece really enjoyed catching up with his Doctors

The impact of COVID-19

The need for personal interaction was a common theme in our conversations and this led to deeper discussions on the real impact of COVID-19, including the increase in workload and the impact on mental health.

The team were fascinated to hear about new research exploring the effects of COVID-19 on the brain. This has already uncovered that almost one-third of people who are diagnosed with COVID-19 go on to have a neurological or psychiatric condition diagnosed within 6 months of infection.

However, many positives came from the pandemic with one doctor talking about the benefits of telehealth and how it has helped increase the level of access to mental health services across Australia, especially for those living in rural and remote areas. The change also helped with developing programs to treat new areas such as depression in senior citizens due to isolation and the effects of social media on young adults.

Stand-Out Presentations

Asylum seekers and refugees talk in which a documentary called “Against Our Oath” was shown. Doctors described it as an amazing video that inspired them to do more to improve the treatment of Asylum seekers. One of the shocking revelations was that Asylum seekers no longer receive treatment from Australian doctors as they were perceived to complain too much, so now only see international doctors.

The telehealth advocacy: past, present & future. Numerous doctors had already mentioned the benefits of Telehealth and this talk was no different, highlighting the impact felt in rural communities. However, it also spoke about the importance of face-to-face interactions and how old and new can work in harmony.

And the winner is….. 

As you may be aware, we ran a competition to win an iPhone 12where we asked our doctors: ‘What is the long-term impact of COVID-19 on the delivery of mental healthcare?

The consensus was the pandemic has, by necessity, accelerated uptake and implementation of telehealth, supporting remote working and virtual delivery of healthcare. This change has somewhat revolutionised how the system now operates and shows that no change is too big.

We are delighted to announce that Dr Tay was the lucky winner of the iPhone 12. If you missed the draw, you can view it here.

So, there you have it - another memorable event from RANZCP. If you couldn’t make it this year, we hope to see you at the next congress.

In the meantime, if you’re a Psychiatrist looking for that next step in your career please register with us today.

Alternatively, you can view our wide range of Psychiatry locum and permanent opportunities.