This podcast is a discussion of the performance of the Victorian health system during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, with reference to the Australian and International context for health systems and population mental health. Issues related to managing through adversity, adaptation health, wellbeing, workforce and mental health service data collection are also discussed by Professors Vinay Lakra, Tarun Bastiampillai and Jeffrey Looi.

There is forthcoming Australasian Psychiatry paper led by Professor Stephen Allison, together with the podcast presenters and Professor David Copolov that covers the background.

Associate Professor Jeffrey Looi, MBBS Syd, MD ANU, DMedSc Melb, FRANZCP, AFRACMA, is a clinical academic neuropsychiatrist, in private and public practice, and Head of the Academic Unit of Psychiatry and Addiction Medicine at the Australian National University Medical School. Jeffrey leads the Australian, United States, Scandinavian-Spanish Imaging Exchange (AUSSIE) and the Consortium of Australian-Academic Psychiatrists for Independent Policy and Research Analysis (CAPIPRA). He has received multiple research and leadership awards including: a Fulbright Scholarship and Australian-Davos-Connection Future Summit Leadership Award. He is an co-author on more than 230 peer-reviewed papers, involving UCLA, Karolinska Institute and University of Melbourne.

Associate Professor Vinay Lakra
Associate Professor Vinay Lakra is the President of the College. He is also a Clinical Director and a member of the Victorian Board of Medical Board of Australia. He completed his medical and psychiatry training in India. He has had extensive involvement in supporting, training and mentoring SIMGs besides developing the assessment standards for SMIGs.

Professor Tarun Bastiampillai, MBBS Adl, BMEDSc Adl, FRANZCP is a consultant psychiatrist and Clinical Professor at both Monash and Flinders University. Tarun is also a member of the Consortium of Australian-Academic Psychiatrists for Independent Policy and Research Analysis (CAPIPRA). He has served in several senior leadership roles, having been appointed SA Department of Health, Executive Director of Mental Health Strategy between 2015 to 2018. He is the recipient of the RANZCP 2020 Margaret Tobin Award for outstanding achievement in administrative psychiatry. He has published his research extensively including within, high-impact journals - JAMA, Lancet and Molecular Psychiatry.

Topic suggestion:
If you have a topic suggestion or would like to participate in a future episode of Psych Matters, we’d love to hear from you.
Please contact us by email at: [email protected]

Disclaimer:
This podcast is provided to you for information purposes only and to provide a broad public understanding of various mental health topics. The podcast may represent the views of the author and not necessarily the views of The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists ('RANZCP'). The podcast is not to be relied upon as medical advice, or as a substitute for medical advice, does not establish a doctor-patient relationship and should not be a substitute for individual clinical judgement. By accessing The RANZCP's podcasts you also agree to the full terms and conditions of the RANZCP's Website. Expert mental health information and finding a psychiatrist in Australia or New Zealand is available on the RANZCP’s Your Health In Mind Website.