Forensic Psychiatry Services

 
 

Forensic Psychiatry - Criminal Matters

When sending us your requests, please ensure you provide:

  • Client name

  • Issue for assessment - pre-sentence, MI, fitness etc.

  • Location - if custody, which prison and their CRN

  • Time-frame and any flexibility for adjournment

  • Name and contact details of solicitor

Medico-legal report writing and expert evidence provision in criminal matters of:

  • Fitness to stand trial

  • Mental impairment defence

  • Pre-sentence mitigation

  • Risk assessment (violence, sexual offending, stalking)

 

Forensic Psychiatry - Civil Matters

Medico-legal report writing and expert evidence provision in civil matters of:

  • Medical negligence and standards of care

  • Historical sexual abuse (plaintiff or defendant)

  • Probate, testamentary and general capacity

  • General (or secondary) psychiatric opinion for clinical application e.g. DVA, NDIA, Centrelink, road authority

Please note: TPD/impairment and workplace injury claims are not undertaken at this practice

 
 
 

Medicolegal Masterclass - Beyond The Tickbox
A Masterclass on Medicolegal Risk for Psychiatrists:
Learn the skills required to reduce your exposure to medicolegal risk as a Psychiatrist, whether your work is in the public or the private sector.

This online Masterclass was developed by two senior Medical Negligence Lawyers from Maurice Blackburn Lawyers and two Forensic Psychiatrists with experience in providing opinions on psychiatric negligence.

 In the Masterclass, the expert panel:

  • Considers relevant legislation and demystifies key concepts including ‘duty of care’ and ‘standard of care.’

  • Outlines common pitfalls at decision-making points in care pathways that most commonly expose Consultant Psychiatrists to medicolegal risk.

  • Discusses the values and dangers of ‘therapeutic risk-taking’ in the context of Recovery-oriented mental health care.

  • Describes how application of the findings research in judgement and decision-making facilitates “good-enough,” medicolegally robust clinical care.

  • Clarifies the distinction between ‘defensive’ and ‘defensible’ practice, with special reference to documentation in the context of risk.

  • Makes extensive use of real-world cases to illustrate the key learning points

The online Masterclass uses recordings from the highly acclaimed webinar ‘Beyond the Tickbox’, reconfigured for on-demand online viewing. Registrants will receive:

  • Access to the online Masterclass for 6 months from date of registration, watchable on any device (including smartphones and tablets)

  • a pdf copy of all of the slides used by presenters

  • A Certificate of Attendance for CPD purposes

  • A Resource Booklet with recommended reading, links to cases and to online resources

  • FREE access to the 90-minute online course ‘Working with Relevant Evidence’ (developed for Australian mental health professionals by Andrew Carroll in conjunction with ‘Our Curious Minds’) that outlines key skills and knowledge required when managing risk in the context of mental health.
    You can find the online course here.