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Doctors on tribunals

A confusion of roles

Department of Law, Queen Mary and Westfield College, University of London

Declaration of interest Funding received from the Economic and Social Research Council, award no. R000 237 006.

Correspondence: Professor Genevra Richardson, Department of Law, Queen Mary and Westfield College, Mile End Road, London El 4NS

Background Mental health review tribunals are required to apply legal criteria within a clinical context. This can create tensions within both law and psychiatry.

Aims To examine the role of the medical member of the tribunal as a possible mediator between the two disciplines.

Method Observation of tribunal hearings and panel deliberations and interviews with tribunal members were used to describe the role of the medical member.

Results The dual roles imposed on the medical member as witness and decision-maker and as doctor and legal actor create formal demands and ethical conflicts that are hard, in practice, either to meet or to resolve.

Conclusions The structure for providing tribunals with access to expert psychiatric input and advice requires reconsideration.

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