Dr. Raja Mukherjee - FASD in the UK 2021 - Webinar#1

This event hosted by FASD Awareness with guest speaker Dr. Raja Mukherjee , a consultant psychiatrist and internationally acclaimed expert in FASD. Hosted by Andrew Keeping (CEO of FASD Awareness Charity) Dr Raja Mukherjee is an Adult Learning Disability Consultant Psychiatrist for Surrey and Border’s Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, with interest in the management of developmental disorders across the lifespan. In September 2009 he started the first NHS based specialist Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders behavioural clinic and since then has seen over 250 cases for specialist second opinion as a National referral service. Dr Mukherjee completed his PhD on the subject of Foetal Alcohol Syndrome in 2014. He has also acted as an invited advisor to the BMA board of science, The Department of Health and the World Health Organisation on the subject of FASD. In 2015 Dr Mukherjee also gave evidence to the first All Party Parliamentary Group on FASD at the House of Commons. He has continues to support national clinical developments related to FASD. Dr Mukherjee is a member of the NICE quality standards group for FASD. He is currently the only UK representative to a US, NIH sponsored initiative to consider the research criteria for FASD. In his own time, he volunteers as a medical advisor to various FASD charities both in the UK and internationally. In wider work, he is currently Clinical Lead for Adult neurodevelopmental services provided by Surrey and Borders including Adult ASD and ADHD services across Surrey, Hampshire and Portsmouth. He is a an executive committee member of the RCPsych SIG on neurodevelopmental disorders, taking over as Finance officer from July 2021. About FASD FASD IS A SERIOUS PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUE FASD occurs in all parts of UK society where alcohol is consumed and is a social issue not just a medical condition. A recent UK based study showed up to 17% of children screened had symptoms consistent with FASD. (Dr Cheryl McQuire, researcher in epidemiology and alcohol-related outcomes at the University of Bristol led the research, which is published in the journal Preventative Medicine. Nov.2018. This research was achieved in conjunction with Dr. Raja Mukherjee) The UK has the fourth highest level of prenatal alcohol use in the world, and around three quarters of looked-after children are deemed at risk (McQuire, Mukerjee 2018). FASD is a disability which often remains hidden or misunderstood by the wider population. This condition is the most common cause of neurodisability in the Western world and presents around 3-6 times the rate of Autism Spectrum Disorder in the UK (McGruer 2018). “There are more children born each year with FASD than with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Spina Bifida, Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrome and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) combined