Published on: 11 July 2023
Two doctors at Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Dr Rais Ahmed and Dr Chinwe Obinwa, have been recognised as Fellows by the Royal College of Psychiatrists for their contributions to psychiatry. 
Consultant Psychiatrist, Dr Ahmed, and Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist, Dr Obinwa, both attended the Royal College’s Award Ceremony as guests of College President, Dr Adrian James, and Chief Executive, Mr Paul Rees MBE, to receive their fellowship awards.
Fellowships are awarded by the Royal College as a mark of distinction and recognition of contributions across psychiatry and are only available to those who have been members for 10 continuous years or more. Fellows should demonstrate significant contributions to align with the core purposes of the college – these include:
- setting standards and promoting excellence in mental health care
- leading, representing and supporting psychiatrists
- working with patients, carers and their organisations.
Dr Ahmed engages in teaching as an educational supervisor for non-medical prescribers. He has extensive leadership and management roles as a clinical director of the Trust, Chair of the Medical Advisory Committee, Medical Lead on the Electronic Patient Records (EPR), Transformation and Chair of the Clinical Design Authority.
Empowering patients and carers is at the heart of Dr Ahmed’s work. He has been involved in several initiatives which aim to enhance mental health care through the support of Integrated Care Systems (ICS).
The College also noted that Dr Obinwa has also been a psychiatrist for over twenty years with a breadth of experience working with both male and female patients within secure hospitals, prison settings as well as the community. Dr Obinwa specialises in the assessment and treatment formulation of complex cases that present as a significant risk of harm to others. She is the Clinical Director of Forensic and Rehabilitation Services in the Trust and Chair of the Women’s Network.
She is passionate about processes and pathways that enhance patient experience. In collaboration with service users, she led the development of the access assessment pathway for secure beds following the creation of IMPACT, the East Midlands Secure Care Collaborative, which oversees secure mental health facilities in the region. She is the Clinical Lead for the Trust in IMPACT. She also has special clinical interests in neuropsychiatry and occupational psychiatry.
Dr Arun Chidambaram, Medical Director at Derbyshire Healthcare, congratulated both Drs Ahmed and Obinwa on receiving their fellowship status.
Dr Chidambaram said: “Both colleagues work incredibly hard to meet the demands of their services and do so with such determination, dedication and rigor, putting patient care at the centre of everything they do.
“We are extremely lucky to have colleagues like Rais and Chinwe who we can learn from. I look forward to seeing more from them as I know their hard work will only continue to grow further from here.”
Dr Ahmed described the recognition as a “defining career moment”, and he said: “I have worked exceptionally hard to promote excellence at Derbyshire Healthcare across psychiatry throughout the years.
“It is a real honour to represent the Trust and field of psychiatry as a Royal College of Psychiatry Fellow, so thank you for the recognition.”
Dr Obinwa was equally as pleased to be recognised and said: “It is real privilege to be recognised by the Prestigious Royal College of Psychiatrists. I am grateful to the Trust for being a supportive place to work as it has allowed me to thrive.''
“I am proud to be a psychiatrist and hope I can continue to provide valuable contributions which make a difference to patients in general, not just within secure care, especially to improve their quality of life.’’
