SCIE media releases 2003

SCIE and NIMHE announce joint fellowships in social care and mental health

28 January 2003

The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) and the National Institute for Mental Health in England (NIMHE) are pleased to announce the joint appointment of two fellows in social care and mental health. Peter Gilbert will be the SCIE fellow with responsibility for policy and practice and will assume his new role on a part-time basis from 1 February 2003. Dr Nick Gould will take up his full-time fellowship, with responsibility for research, from 1 September 2003.

The fellowships aim to bring together research, policy and practice and champion social perspectives at national, regional and local levels at a time of significant change in mental health services. Their work will include building research networks, reviewing research on effective practice and, with SCIE and NIMHE, developing best practice guides for staff.

Peter Gilbert is currently visiting research fellow at the University of Sussex, honorary research associate with Staffordshire University, senior Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health adviser on social care and a member of the Association of Directors of Social Services (ADSS) mental health strategy group. He is also a published author, trainer and consultant and is leading a NIHME project on spirituality and mental health. Mr Gilbert said: "One of my key tasks will be working out how to make research usable for frontline staff. I was an approved social worker for 13 years and integrating theory and practice is a passion."

Nick Gould is reader in social work and head of the department of social and policy sciences at the University of Bath. A former social worker, Dr Gould has published many articles and books on social care. He said: "As someone who's been involved for 25 years in social care and mental health, I am excited at this opportunity to focus my experience on developing service-user-focused models of care."

Bill Kilgallon, SCIE chief executive, and Antony Sheehan, chief executive of the National Institute for Mental Health in England, welcomed the appointments.

Mr Kilgallon said: "We are delighted that we have been able to appoint two such knowledgeable and experienced people. These joint appointments are a great opportunity for our organisations to work together to improve social care practice in mental health services."

Professor Sheehan added: "These fellowships recognise the importance of social care perspectives to mental health and the reform of mental health services. We are confident that Peter and Nick will make a real impact on the work of NIMHE in the future."

Notes for editors

For more information, contact Linda Steele, SCIE, on 020 7089 6840 or Ingrid Steele, NIMHE, on 07753 835 395.

Peter Gilbert

Peter has spent nearly 30 years in social care and social work. He has been an approved social worker and a manager in mental health services in Kent. He oversaw the introduction of the NHS and Community Care Act into Staffordshire. He was director of social services for Worcestershire County Council when NHS and social services mental health were integrating. While NIMHE was being set up, he worked with the core group on social care issues. He also leads a national NIMHE project on spirituality and mental health.

Previously, he had been in the army before studying modern history at Balliol College, Oxford.

Peter now works as an independent consultant, specialising in mental health and learning disability and (as an associate consultant with the national development team) organisational change and leadership.

He has recently published a training pack on supervision and leadership with Neil Thompson, Visiting Professor at Liverpool University, and has just completed work on the value of Social Work in Mental Health for the Sainsbury Centre, to be published as a book by Russell House in May 2003. He is also co-author, with Terry Scragg, of Southampton University, of Managing to Care.

Nicholas Gould

Dr Nick Gould became reader in social work in 1999, after 10 years at Bath University.

His is currently director of studies (MSc in social research), director of postgraduate research students in the department of social and policy sciences and also director of postgraduate research training in the faculty of humanities and social sciences.

Nicholas has previously held other appointments at the University, as head of the social work group, research manager for the social services research and development unit and director of social work studies.

Before joining Bath University, he was senior lecturer in social wWork at Buckinghamshire College of Higher Education and a senior social worker for Broadmoor special hospital and Berkshire social services.

Nicholas has published over 30 books, journal articles and book chapters across a broad spectrum of social care issues.