UK devolution and the international perspective of the College

Abstract

Some principles of psychiatric practice are applicable across all healthcare settings and epochs, whereas other issues are more specific to one healthcare model and/or time. The increasing divergence of service models and underlying policies in the four UK devolved jurisdictions (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales) means that this distinction between general and specific issues has increasing relevance to the College. There are many benefits in identifying, and being strong advocates for, the generic principles of excellent psychiatric care, which are transferable across settings and relatively stable over time. These are also, of course, the principles that will have the most relevance in a broad international perspective that goes far beyond the UK.