Annual PROGRESS conference on Psychosis – St. Vincent’s University Hospital

The sold out annual PROGRESS conference on psychosis was held at St Vincent’s University Hospital on 4th October 2024. There were presentations from national and international experts on addressing the physical health of people affected by psychosis. This included a presentation by Prof Mary Davoran on how physical health can be addressed in a medium forensic hospital. Associate Professor Benjamin Perry delivered a presentation on how people affected by SMI are not served by traditional cardiovascular risk prediction tools and he presented his own tool, PsyMetric, that has been developed and validated for use in people with a first episode of psychosis. Aoife Carolan gave a presentation on the development of clinical guidelines on the use of metformin to prevent antipsychotic induced weight gain.

Prof Rachel Upthegrove provided up to date findings on the rationale for identifying and managing treatment resistance early in those with a first episode of psychosis. Associate Professor John Lyne described how the development of a physical health working group has been established within the Newcastle mental health services. Finally, Dr David Shiers gave an account of how he has advocated for early intervention for psychosis services based on his experience of caring for his daughter who has a diagnosis of schizophrenia and how this advocacy progressed to include physical and dental health.