Mental health tribunals in England and Wales: a representative's guide

Consultant psychiatrists are familiar with mental health tribunals, at which they appear as key witnesses giving both factual evidence and expert opinion. They also commonly act as the representative of the ‘responsible authority’. The implications of this in terms of roles and responsibilities, and...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Advances in psychiatric treatment : the Royal College of Psychiatrists' journal of continuing professional development 2013-01, Vol.19 (1), p.40-47
Main Authors: Jones, Chris, Nimmagadda, Srikanth, Veitch, Paul
Format: Article
Language:English
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Consultant psychiatrists are familiar with mental health tribunals, at which they appear as key witnesses giving both factual evidence and expert opinion. They also commonly act as the representative of the ‘responsible authority’. The implications of this in terms of roles and responsibilities, and in terms of training and continuing professional development, have received little attention. Psychiatrists should not accept a representative role unless they are sure that they have the necessary competencies and resources – competencies that are alien to most clinicians and resources that are not available in many services. This article outlines those requirements so that psychiatrists can make better-informed decisions about whether or not to undertake the role and provides practical guidance for those who choose to do so.
ISSN:1355-5146
1472-1481
DOI:10.1192/apt.bp.111.009571