Dame Susan Mary Bailey, (born 29 August 1950) is a British

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their sy ...

and academic who specialises in children's mental health. Since 2004, she has been Professor of Child Mental Health at the

University of Central Lancashire , mottoeng = "From the Earth to the Sun" , established = as Institution for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledgere-established 1992 (University status granted) , type = Public , chancellor ...

. From 2011 to 2014, she was President of the

Royal College of Psychiatrists The Royal College of Psychiatrists is the main professional organisation of psychiatrists in the United Kingdom, and is responsible for representing psychiatrists, for psychiatric research and for providing public information about mental health ...

. Since January 2015, she has been Chair of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges.

Early life

Bailey was born on 29 August 1950 in Manchester, England. She was educated at Hulme Grammar School for Girls, then a

direct grant A direct grant grammar school was a type of Selective school, selective secondary school in the United Kingdom that existed between 1945 and 1976. One quarter of the places in these schools were directly funded by central government, while the rem ...

grammar school in Oldham, and at

Watford Grammar School for Girls Watford Grammar School for Girls (commonly abbreviated WGGS) is an academy for girls in Watford in Hertfordshire, UK. Despite its name, it is only a partially selective school, with 25% of entrants admitted on academic ability and 10% on musica ...

, then a grammar school in Watford. She studied medicine at the University of Manchester and graduated with

Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery ( la, Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae; abbreviated most commonly MBBS), is the primary medical degree awarded by medical schools in countries that follow the tradition of the United King ...

(MB ChB) degrees in 1973.

Medical career

Bailey became a

Member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists Member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists (MRCPsych) is a postnominal qualification awarded to physicians who have completed the prescribed training requirements and membership examinations mandated by the Royal College of Psychiatrists. MRCPsyc ...

(MRCPsych) in 1976 and was elected a

Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists The Royal College of Psychiatrists is the main professional organisation of psychiatrists in the United Kingdom, and is responsible for representing psychiatrists, for psychiatric research and for providing public information about mental healt ...

(FRCPsych) in 1996. Since 1983, she has been a

consultant A consultant (from la, consultare "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice and other purposeful activities in an area of specialization. Consulting servic ...

child and adolescent

forensic psychiatrist Forensic psychiatry is a subspeciality of psychiatry and is related to criminology. It encompasses the interface between law and psychiatry. According to the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, it is defined as "a subspecialty of psychiatr ...

at the Greater Manchester West Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust. In 1993, she appeared as an expert witness in the James Bulger murder trial. She concluded that one of Bulger's killers, Jon Venables, knew the difference between right and wrong: information that led to them being convicted of murder. She thereafter remained Venables' psychiatrist through his adolescence. Between 2001 and 2014, Bailey held a number of senior positions in the

. She was Chair of the Child and Adolescent Faculty from 2001 to 2005, and was registrar from 2005 to 2010. From 30 June 2011 to 2014, she was President of the college. Since 1 January 2015, she has been Chair of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges. In 2002, Bailey was an Honorary Fellow at the

University of Surrey The University of Surrey is a public research university in Guildford, Surrey, England. The university received its royal charter in 1966, along with a number of other institutions following recommendations in the Robbins Report. The institut ...

. Since 2004, she has been Professor of Child Mental Health at the

and a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Manchester.

Honours

In the 2002

Queen's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are present ...

, Bailey was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) "for services to Youth Justice". In the 2014 New Year Honours, she was promoted to

Dame Commander Commander ( it, Commendatore; french: Commandeur; german: Komtur; es, Comendador; pt, Comendador), or Knight Commander, is a title of honor prevalent in chivalric orders and fraternal orders. The title of Commander occurred in the medieval mil ...

of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) "for services to Psychiatry and for voluntary service to People with Mental Health Conditions".

Selected works

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bailey, Susan 1950 births Living people British child psychiatrists People in health professions from Manchester People educated at Oldham Hulme Grammar School People educated at Watford Grammar School for Girls Alumni of the University of Manchester Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of the Royal College of Psychiatrists Academics of the University of Central Lancashire Academics of the University of Surrey Academics of the University of Manchester British women psychiatrists