Sukhmeet Singh
I am a registrar specialising in both Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and the Psychiatry of Intellectual Disabilities. My interest in research involving people with complex and intersecting needs began during medical school and has developed further through extensive clinical experience across a range of mental health settings, including services for children, adolescents, and adults with mental health problems.
I first became interested in clinical academia during my intercalated BSc, which led to subsequent publications and a three-year Pathfinder Fellowship funded by the Royal College of Psychiatrists. I was later appointed an Academic Clinical Fellow at the University of Cambridge before returning to Scotland, where I have been a Clinical Lecturer in the Psychiatry of Intellectual Disability since 2024.
Alongside my clinical work, I have been involved in service improvement projects aimed at reducing health inequalities and improving access to mental health care for marginalised populations, particularly people with intellectual disabilities. I am also committed to supporting physician wellbeing and have contributed to initiatives addressing burnout and distress through roles with the Royal College of Psychiatrists.
I am passionate about bridging research and practice, and I hope to develop a career that integrates clinical care, academic research, and policy influence to improve outcomes for people with complex health and social care needs.
Through my PhD project, I am exploring how physical and mental health comorbidities are recognised and managed in people experiencing a mental health crisis, with a particular focus on emergency department settings. My research will combine data science methods to assess the prevalence of multimorbidity, qualitative interviews to explore the experiences of individuals with multimorbidity accessing acute mental health care, and a feasibility study to identify a cohort for further assessment of neurodevelopmental conditions.
I am excited to be joining this programme, which will support the development of my research skills and further my career as a clinical academic specialising in the unmet health needs associated with multimorbidity in marginalised populations.
Project: Identifying and Managing Multimorbidity in Emergency Department Patients Presenting with Mental Health Crisis
Primary Supervisor: Prof Colin McCowan (Univesity of St Andrews)
Secondary Supervisors: Prof Francis Quirk, Prof Silvia Paracchini (Univesity of St Andrews) , Dr Rajendra Raman (University of St Andrews/NHS Fife)
