The Coroner’s Court: Writing reports, giving evidence and looking after yourself throughout the process

This workshop is aimed at psychiatrists preparing for the Coroner’s Court, or who want to learn more about the process. Whilst recognising that suicide is not the only reason why a psychiatrist may be called to the Coroner’s Court, research from the Royal College of Psychiatrists shows that most psychiatrists will experience the death by suicide of one or more of their patients and this can have a major impact on them, their practice and their professional relationships.

Rachel Gibbons will speak on "the “8 ‘truths’ of suicide” and the impact on clinicians. This will be followed by an introduction to the coronial process and practical advice on writing reports and giving oral evidence in the Coroner’s Court.

Watch on demand:

• Please kindly note, the event will be recorded, and the recording made available within two weeks of the event.
• We would encourage those who register to attend on the day of the event, should they wish to ask questions to our speakers.
• The recording will be sent out to delegates via email to the email address used at the time of registering. If you are unsure whether your email address is up to date, please update this via your membership account. 

We are delighted to announce the following speakers:

Dr Rachel Gibbons has been working in the NHS over the past 20 years in various psychiatric settings as a consultant psychiatrist and consultant medical psychotherapist, in settings that include, inpatient and psychiatric intensive care wards, outpatient psychiatric and psychotherapy services, hospital liaison teams and forensic and prison services. She has recently been working as the Director of Therapies for the Priory Group. She is a psychoanalyst and group analyst and current vice-chair of the faculty of medical psychotherapy and chair of the Patient Safety Group and the Working Group on the Effect of Suicide and Homicide on Clinicians at the Royal College of Psychiatrists.

Millie Tamworth is a Phd student based in the Division of Psychiatry at UCL. Her research looks at the experience of mental health practitioners when a patient dies by suicide or commits a homicide. In seeking to understand the experience of the Coroner’s Inquest and the surrounding investigatory procedure after the unexpected death of a patient, the research aims to identify feasible recommendations to improve the inquest experience for mental health practitioners. Millie’s wider research interests include conducting applied clinical research, understanding experiences of vicarious trauma, and identifying the most helpful support measures. Her PhD is funded by the Colt Foundation.

Dr Stewart Duffy: Stewart is a legal director at Weightmans where he specialises in regulatory and disciplinary law. His clients include individual practitioners, healthcare providers and a number of healthcare regulators. Stewart is experienced in representing doctors at inquests and before the General Medical Council. Stewart started his professional life as a doctor working in hospital practice and was awarded a doctorate in medicine for research. He obtained a law degree from University College Dublin before being called to the New York State Bar. He cross-qualified as a Solicitor in England and Wales in 2010

Dr Bridget Dolan KC: An Assistant Coroner and a leading practitioner in the Court of Protection and the Coroners Courts, Bridget was named by The Lawyer as 'Barrister of the Year' in 2015. A recent legal directory review has noted "her consummate knowledge of the law, her tactical excellence and her exceptional humanity in dealing with people who are coming to terms with a difficult process". Drawing on her previous career as a forensic psychologist, she stands out for her specialist work at the interface of law and psychiatry.

View the full programme

• access to a reliable internet connection
• a PC, laptop, tablet or phone
• Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge browser or Zoom installed on your PC, laptop, tablet or phone
  

Please note - it is up to the participant to ensure that they have the correct requirements in place prior to booking the event.

Joining instructions for the event will be sent out the week of the event.

The below speakers have competing interests to declare:

Dr Rachel Gibbons - Honorarium for speaking at events

Dr Bridget Dolan KC - Honorarium for speaking at events

Prior to registering for this event, we would ask that all delegates read our terms and conditions for booking an event.