Professor Clair Chilvers, a McPin trustee, died recently surrounded by her family, aged 78. At the weekend a beautifully written obituary to her life was published in the Times.
Vanessa Pinfold
I first met Clair in about 2004, in her role as research director of the newly formed National Institute for Mental Health in England.
I was the research director at Rethink Mental Illness at the time. Clair set up a group for mental health research funders – and allies in the charity sector – to join up our efforts to build a more robust mental health research sector examining infrastructure and levels of funding.
In 2005 Clair and her colleague Mike Clarke published a summary analysis in the journal Psychiatric Bulletin. It drew upon a Department of Health (2002) report based on surveys of NHS Trust mental health research activity and highlighted how a lack of coordinated national direction was significantly hampering progress.
The mental health funders group – which I attended and Clair chaired – was one part of concerted efforts to accelerate mental health research, bringing it out of the shadows.
Clair was a leader who prided herself on building relationships and strong respectful collaborations, mentoring others in the process.
From those early days, I remember Clair as a quiet, calm presence, providing insightful inputs to meetings which often had differences of opinion on display. We never spoke about mentoring but she was a mentor to me as we both pushed forward our commitment to improving mental health research.
Over the last few years I have seen, spoken or emailed to Clair almost every week as we worked together at both McPin and the charity Mental Health Research UK (MHRUK).
But, more than, I got to know an extraordinary women – poet, mum, grandma, community advocate and traveller. Her passing has affected me deeply, and I know others who worked alongside her will feel the same.
I will always be grateful for the friendship and guidance she shared, as well as the incredible legacy she leaves behind in the mental health research field.
In 2007, while I was on maternity leave, Clair was busy setting up MHRUK.
As a cancer epidemiologist, first at the Institute of Cancer Research, then at the University of Nottingham where she was Professor of Epidemiology, she knew how crucial the charity Cancer Research UK was for progressing and understanding treatments for cancer – but mental health did not have anything like that at the time
Seeking input from other charities like Rethink, Mind and the Mental Health Foundation, it was clear this would need to be a solo venture, at least in the beginning, and I wanted to help.
As chance would have it, in 2007 I co-founded the McPin Foundation. McPin awarded MHRUK one of our first grants – to help development business case and fundraising plan to establish ‘the Cancer Research UK of mental health’.
Some of the reasons why Clair was so committed to mental health are shared in her Times obituary.
“Clair was often privately plagued by “black dog” moods, and she took a renewed interest in mental health at the end of her career. In 2008, in one of her prouder achievements, she co-founded Mental Health Research UK to promote research into mental illness and reduce the stigma associated with it.
“A good-humoured and friendly figure to work with, she was determined that the research should focus on people’s lives, and their experiences of illness and care.”
MHRUK is committed to capacity-building – it funds PhD scholarships (33 at last count) which are the first ‘rung on the academic ladder’ and an essential part of the mental health research landscape. Setting up any charity is a huge undertaking (see Clair’s story here)!
Laura Davidson, co-founder MHRUK, describes some of her memories of that time in her own blog reflecting on Clair’s life (to follow).
As well as MHRUK, Clair continued to bring the sector together in the UK mental health funders group. It changed over time, with a focus on smaller charities, meeting twice a year to network and build alliances.
In 2014, Clair asked if I would take on the chairing and secretariat role for the group which I did. We actually have our next meeting coming up in September with over 20 organisations attending – Clair’s co-ordination legacy and call to action for the sector to self-organise lives on.
In 2017, we agreed to strengthen the link between McPin and MHRUK by joining each other’s boards. We worked on centring lived experience expertise more in the MHRUK PhD scholarship award processes.
At McPin, Clair ensured we had robust governance processes bringing to bear her many years of experience on boards. She was enthusiastic about our work, attending every staff-trustee strategy away day and taking an active interest in the development of the McPin team.
At our 10-year birthday celebration recently, Clair shared her reflections on our progress in the sector developing patient and public involvement in research. Her endorsement of our efforts meant a lot. We are all trying to take small but important footsteps forward.
As fellow McPin trustee Amy Meadows remembers:
“Clair was a unique and essential member of our Board and we have gained so much from her strong resolve, warm compassion, sharp intellect and deep integrity.
“She leaves an indelible mark on the profile, support and shape of mental health research sector, and at McPin in the manner in which we will continue to behave and achieve. It has truly been a privilege to serve McPin alongside her and we will ensure her legacy lives on in our work.”
A celebration of Clair’s life is being held on Friday 13th September in Gloucester. This will include a focus on her poetry – she published two books and many other pieces.
At McPin she donated her poem – Out of Darkness – to a collection about Covid. It ends:
When we come out of the darkness
will we still watch the clouds pass?
Clair always noticed the details and cared about people. The mental health research community has lost a pioneer and advocate – a considered, humorous and kind leader.
In time we will find a way to appropriately and collectively honour our dear friend and colleague, as a community working together, as she would have done.
