Abstract
On 16 December 2016, Vanessa Cameron retires as Chief Executive of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. She started working there in September 1980 and in 1984 she became Secretary of the College, the role that preceded chief executive. The College was formed in 1971, so Vanessa has been present for most of its lifetime. It has been a period of continuous change that has seen psychiatry leave the old mental hospitals, expand considerably in the late 1990s and early part of the 21st century, and come under huge pressure more recently. Although she has never worked within mental health services, Vanessa has been at the heart of British psychiatry for 36 years. She was awarded an MBE in the 2013 New Year's Honours list for services to psychiatry.We interviewed Vanessa at 21 Prescot Street on 3 August 2016.
Highlights
On 16 December 2016, Vanessa Cameron retires as Chief Executive of the Royal College of Psychiatrists
We interviewed Vanessa at 21 Prescot Street on 3 August 2016
Vanessa was born in Norfolk, Virginia, USA, where her father was posted with the Royal Navy
Summary
Vanessa was born in Norfolk, Virginia, USA, where her father was posted with the Royal Navy. Vanessa describes him as a ‘clever man who grew up in a Trollopian environment’ It was not recognised at the time, her performance suffered because she was experiencing early symptoms of bipolar affective disorder Her academic workload was reduced and ‘it was generally agreed that I wouldn’t be able to cope with university, something that I have been compensating for ever since’. She wanted to get away from the naval environment where she had grown up, and at 18 she left home to go to work in Oxford (‘I always wanted to be close to really clever people’). Vanessa Cameron, Secretary of Royal College of Psychiatrists and Chief Executive, 1984-2016
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