General description of the work Consultant Psychiatrists undertake
Consultant Psychiatrists deal with mental illness and mental ill-health. The illnesses that they deal with include depression, schizophrenia, substance abuse (alcohol, drugs), post-traumatic stress, obsessive-compulsive behaviour and manic depression.
Consultant Psychiatrists often have particular areas on interest such as:
• Old Age Psychiatry – dealing with dementia, cognitive dysfunction and Alzheimer’s Disease
• Learning Disability – dealing with mental health problems associated with learning
disabilities
• Forensic Psychiatry – dealing with mental health issues related to crime, prison and court
procedures
• Child Psychiatry – dealing with mental health problems in children
• Substance Abuse – dealing with addiction problems including drugs and alcohol


Most common clinical areas / procedures leading to a claim of clinical negligence
• monitoring of patients in the community
• discharge and monitoring of patients who later commit suicide
• problems related to side effects of psychiatric medication


Sub-Specialities / Alternative and Additional job titles
If the Consultant Psychiatrist specialises in a particular area of psychiatry he/she may be known by that sub-speciality e.g. Consultant Child Psychiatrist, Consultant in Old Age Psychiatry (also known as a Consultant Psychogeriatrician), Consultant in Psychiatry and Substance Abuse, Consultant in Psychiatry and Learning Difficulties.


Usual Qualifications
The Consultant Psychiatrist will have MRCPsych or FRCPsych (Member or Fellow of the Royal Colleges of Psychiatrists) after his/her name.


Academic Appointments
The Consultant Psychiatrist may be a Lecturer or Professor in Psychiatry at a Medical School. He/She may be an Examiner for the Royal College of Psychiatrists.


Our Experts
The Consultant Psychiatrists who prepare reports on medical negligence cases on our behalf are all experienced NHS Consultants. They are in active clinical practice and they are experienced at preparing medico-legal reports. They are willing to attend Court in the UK and Ireland provided that they are given enough notice and that their fees and expenses for attending are agreed in advance.
Each of the Consultant Psychiatrists who prepare reports on our behalf has particular areas of clinical interest within his/her practice and we match each case with the most appropriate Consultant.


The Report
The Consultant Psychiatrists prepare their Reports for the benefit of the Courts. In other words, they prepare unbiased Reports in order to help the Court to decide the case, rather than to help one side or the other.
The Consultant Psychiatrists examine all the documentation and details of the case and look at the standard of care that the Client received. They then give their opinion on whether or not the standard of care that the Client received fell below the standard of care he/she should have received.
Where necessary they provide background documentation and information to back-up their opinion.


Documentation required
The most important documentation is the Client’s Hospital and GP Records. This documentation will usually contain their Doctors’ Records, Medication Records, Nursing Records, Out-Patient Clinic Records and Correspondence.
An account of events by the Client and/or the Client’s family will be of assistance to the Consultant Psychiatrist. Copies of the Client’s Attendances with their Solicitor will also help to clarify the areas of care that are at issue in the case.


Time-scale for the Report
Once we have confirmation to proceed with the Report the Consultant Psychiatrists can usually prepare their Reports within 8 to 10 weeks. If a Report is needed urgently we will endeavour to have it prepared sooner than this.


Price of the Report
Once we receive all the documentation we will provide you with a quotation for the price of the Report from the Consultant Psychiatrist. If you decide to go ahead with the Report we will have it prepared and we will forward it to you on receipt of payment.
If you decide not to go ahead with the Report after receiving the quotation we will return all the documentation to you and there is no charge.


Queries on the Report / Addendums
The Reports from the Consultant Psychiatrists are usually very clear and give a concise opinion on the standard of care the Client received.
If minor clarifications are needed then these will be provided at no extra cost.
If, after the Report has been completed, additional documentation needs to be examined by the Consultant Psychiatrist or if additional work needs to be done in order to provide an Addendum to the Report, then there may be an additional charge. If so, we will inform you of this and only proceed with your approval.


Client Examination
The Consultant Psychiatrists do not normally need to see the Client in order to prepare a Report on the standard of care he/she has received. They can usually prepare their Report from the case notes and other documentation.
If the case does progress and a Report is needed on the Client’s current medical condition and/or prognosis for the future, then the Client may need to be seen by the Consultant Psychiatrist for an examination and we can make the necessary arrangements.