Expert Witness Forensics Focus

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ISSN 2397-2769

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THE JOURNAL FOR INSTRUCTING PROFESSIONALS & EXPERT WITNESSES

NORTH WEST FOCUS RICS

Vol 1 Issue 19 - Spring 2017 UK £5.00 €6.00

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LAW L AW EN ENFORCEMENT FORCEM E ENT FORENSICS FORENSICS | F FORENSIC ORENSIC L LABS ABS | IN INVESTIGATIONS/RESEARCH VESTIGATIONS/RES E EARCH DIGITAL FORENSICS ACADEMIA ROOMS AND CRIMINAL DIG ITAL F ORENSICS | A CA AD DEM E IA | COURT COURT R OOMS A ND C RIMIN NA AL LAW LAW

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Welcome to the Expert Witness Journal Hello and welcome to the 19th edition of the Expert Witness Journal.

In this edition we feature ‘Forensics’ and ‘Law in the North West.’ Our forensics feature ties in with our participation at the Forensics Europe Expo, which is Europe's leading event dedicated to forensic science. The event encompasses all aspects of forensic investigation and offers a wealth of free experiences for professional development and learning. We are on stand 1-E49 please stop and say hello.

We also feature an excellent article on Psychology and food safety along with a mixture of news items and developments that affect experts.

In expert witness news The Mercantile Court and Technology and Construction Court (TCC), and the Civil Procedure Rule Committee (CPRC) has suggested that expert witnesses giving concurrent evidence (hot-tubbing), should be the default position. It was giving direction to a sub-committee that had told the CPRC that hot-tubbing had not caught on and was not widely taken up voluntarily. The sub-committee found that, where it was used, hot-tubbing improved quality, saved trial time and helped judges determine disputed issues.

We welcome any submissions for articles, our next issue will tie in with Law Glasgow so any features that are relevant to Scottish Experts would be appreciated.

Many thanks for your support and we wish all our readers a happy Easter Chris Connelly Acting Editor Email:chris.connelly@expertwitness.co.uk This Journal and any related website and products are sold and distributed on the terms and condition that: The publisher, contributors, editors and related parties are not responsible in any way for the actions or results taken any person, organisation or any party on basis of reading information, stories or contributions in this publication, website or related product.

The publisher, contributors and related parties are not engaged in providing legal, financial or professional advice or services. The publisher, contributors, editors and consultants disclaim any and all liability and responsibility to any person or party, be they a purchaser, reader, advertiser or consumer of this publication or not in regards to the consequences and outcomes of anything done or omitted being in reliance whether partly or solely on the contents of this publication and related website and products. No third parties are to be paid for any services pertaining to be from ‘The Expert Witness Journal’.

All rights reserved, material in this publication may not be reproduced without written consent. Editorial material and opinions expressed in The Expert Witness Journal are of the authors and do not necessary reflect the views of Expert Witness or The Expert Witness Journal.

The publisher does not accept responsibility for advertising content. The information in this magazine does not constitute a legal standpoint.

The publisher, editors, contributors and related parties shall have no responsibility for any action or omission by any other contributor, consultant, editor or related party. The information in this magazine does not constitute a legal standpoint. Printed in Great Britain 2017.

Expert Witness Publishing Limited, Unit 1/06, Ivy Business Centre, Crown St, Failsworth, Manchester M35 9BG

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News & Events New Discount Rate for Personal Injury Claims Announced and Medical Defence Organisations to ensure that appropriate funding is available to meet additional costs to GPs, recognising the crucial role they play in the delivery of NHS

The Lord Chancellor has today announced changes to personal injury compensation payments.

When victims of life-changing injuries accept lump sum compensation payments, the actual amount they receive is adjusted according to the interest they can expect to earn by investing it.

the government will launch a consultation in the coming weeks to consider whether there is a better or fairer framework for claimants and defendants, with the government bringing forward any necessary legislation at an early stage

In finalising the compensation amount, courts apply a calculation called the Discount Rate – with the percentage linked in law to returns on the lowest risk investments, typically Index Linked Gilts.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond will meet representatives of the insurance industry to assess the impact of the rate adjustment

Today’s decision by Elizabeth Truss to lower the Discount Rate from 2.5% to minus 0.75% was made in accordance with the law and in her capacity as independent Lord Chancellor.

The consultation, which will be launched before Easter, will consider options for reform – including whether the rate should in future be set by an independent body; whether more frequent reviews would improve predictability and certainty for all parties; and whether the methodology is appropriate for the future.

The law makes clear that claimants must be treated as risk averse investors, reflecting the fact that they are financially dependent on this lump sum, often for long periods or the duration of their life.

The new discount rate came into effect on 20 March 2017, following amendments to current legislation.

Compensation awards using the rate should put the claimant in the same financial position had they not been injured, including loss of future earnings and care costs.

Mr Otto von Arx

Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary Elizabeth Truss said: ... The law is absolutely clear - as Lord Chancellor, I must make sure the right rate is set to compensate claimants.

Consultant Orthopaedic Spinal Surgeon Medico-Legal / Medical Negligence Expert MBChB, MRCS, FRCS (Tr & Orth)

Mr Otto von Arx is a Consultant Orthopaedic & Spinal Surgeon based in Bath since 2007. He has worked as a Consultant Orthopaedic and Spinal Surgeon since 2007.

... I am clear that this is the only legally acceptable rate I can set.

Mr Otto von Arx is a specialist in Orthopaedic Trauma Surgery and, experienced in most sub-specialties within Orthopaedic Surgery, primarily Spinal Surgery. He has undertaken research and audit projects during his career, which have culminated in local, international podium presentations and publications in peer reviewed journals.

The Discount Rate has been unchanged since 2001.

Today’s decision, as well as seeing compensation payments rise, is also likely to have a significant impact on the insurance industry and a knock-on effect on public services with large personal injury liabilities – particularly the NHS.

His areas of expertise include Spinal Surgery with expertise of spinal surgical practice, including pre-operative, peri-operative and post-operative management of spinal trauma and elective spinal surgery.

Mr Otto von Arx has over 10 years experience acting as medical legal expert, providing advice and expert reports to instructing solicitors. His medical legal practice is split 70: 30 between claimant and defendant instruction.

But in the announcement to the London Stock Exchange this morning, four key pledges were made: the government has committed to ensuring that the NHS Litigation Authority has appropriate funding to cover changes to hospitals’ clinical negligence costs the Department of Health will work closely with GPs EXPERT WITNESS JOURNAL

Tel: 01761 422 258 Fax: 01761 422 233 Contact: P.A. Ellie Barnes Email: ovonarx@me.com Circle Bath Hospital Ltd, Foxcote Avenue Bath Business Park, Peasdown ST John, Bath BA2 8SQ

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Contents

Some of the highlights of this issue History repeats itself; what is happening today, did happen yesterday and would happen tomorrow for the Elderly by Dr Bashir Qureshi

page 13

How to Handle Complaints Effectively

by Dr Katherine Grant

page 15

Independent, Scientific Expertise Key in Food Safety Disputes

By Dr Peter Wareing

page 22

Learning from Experience: Honesty and Malingering

by Graham Rogers

page 30

The Interface between Psychology and Law: Continuous Improvement in Claimant, Lawyer and Expert’s Experience - by Koch HCH, Palmer H & Reay K.

page 34

Should the Cause of Healthcare Accidents and their Subsequent Management be Approached Through a Person-centred Approach or a Systems Approach?

Dr Christopher Dalley

page 40

North West Focus including; Why you Should Consider Cleaning as a Factor in Personal Liability Claims by Futureclean Assured Systems and The Eighth Annual Manchester Legal Awards hosted at The Midland Hotel

page 45

What Level of Training and Experience is Needed to do Dispute Resolution Work?

by Martin Burns RICS

page 59

Forensic Focus Choosing the Right Digital Forensics Provider

by Intaforenics

page 65

Professionalising Policing – Current Developments and Future Proofing

by UCLAN

page 72

GCC Forensic Science Conference, Abu Dhabi Event Brochure A preview of what is coming in November

page 77

Professor J. Peter A. Lodge

MD FRCS

Recognised internationally as an expert in complex surgery for disorders relating to the liver, gallbladder and bile ducts as well as weight loss (bariatric) surgery Surgical training primarily under the guidance of Professor Geoffrey R Giles, and the New England Deaconess Hospital (Harvard Medical School), Boston, USA, under the guidance of Professor Anthony P Monaco.

Please enquire via my website, www.peterlodge.com Email: peter.lodge@nhs.net Telephone: Secretary +44-(0)113 2065175 Fax: +44-(0)113 2448182 Mobile: +44-(0)7775 825934 Address: HPB and Transplant Unit, St James's University Hospital, Leeds LS9 7TF EXPERT WITNESS JOURNAL

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News & Events Mr Carlyle v Bank of Scotland (Scottish Case and Supreme Court)

by Expert Evidence This case concerned a property developer and a bank, and a loan to fund not just the purchase of a plot of land, but the building of a new house on that land.

phone call on 14 June 2007. Once it had been found that the Bank had the intention to make a legally binding promise, there was a requirement to look for ways to give effect to that promise.

Mr Carlyle applied to the Royal Bank of Scotland (‘the Bank‘) for a substantial loan making it clear to the Bank that the loan was to fund the purchase and development of a piece of land. His purchase of the land was subject to a ‘buy-back’ clause which gave the seller power to re-purchase the plot of land if construction of the house was not completed within a specified time. In his discussions with the Bank prior to the loan being concluded Mr Carlyle drew attention to the buy-back clause. This was also reiterated in subsequent phone calls with the Bank.

The loan was approved on 14 June 2007 but in August 2008 Mr Carlyle was told that the Bank would not be providing money for the construction element of the project and made a claim against him for £1,449,660 plus interest. Mr Carlyle defended the action and counterclaimed for his loss of profit on the enterprise. The court had to decide whether, on an objective assessment, the Bank intended to enter into a legally binding promise to lend the defendant money not just for the purchase of the land but also to build the house on it.

Link: Carlyle v Royal Bank of Scotland Plc [2015] UKSC 13 Expert Evidence Limited prides itself on assisting throughout the legal process where required and is a professional firm concentrating on the four main areas of dispute resolution; acting as expert witnesses in financial litigation, mediation, arbitration and adjudication. The firm has a civil, criminal and international practice and has advised in many recent cases. Areas of specialisation include banking, lending, regulation, investment, and tax.

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D & H B Associates Ltd Experts in Road Traffic Offences

The Lord Ordinary found that there was a collateral warranty to make development funding available to Mr Carlyle and that the Bank was in breach of it. The Bank appealed and the court (the Second Division of the Inner house) allowed the Appeal, whereupon Mr Carlyle took his claim to the Supreme court.

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We work with both Civil and criminal cases and are experts in accidents involving all types of vehicles including cars, motorcycles, buses and heavy vehicles.

Plato The Supreme court unanimously allowed the appeal and set aside the previous judgement, remitting the case to the Court of Session. It relied on the findings of the original judge (the Lord Ordinary) who had heard all the evidence and stated that, on an objective analysis, the judge had a reasonable evidential basis for finding that the Bank made a legally binding promise to provide development funding in the teleEXPERT WITNESS JOURNAL

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News & Events Online Convictions Set to Become a Reality Defendants will soon be able to plead guilty, be convicted and pay a penalty immediately and entirely online for certain offences, the Ministry of Justice announced as digital justice moved a step closer to reality.

Society’s call to trial the process with TV licensing evasion instead.

Responding to concerns that an online process may minimise the significance of these offences by removing the ‘embarrassment’ of being in the dock and sentenced in public court, the MoJ said it would only apply to cases which already generally require minimum involvement from magistrates and would otherwise be decided by a single magistrate on the papers without the need for a court hearing.

It is to test the system with the three summary, non-imprisonable offences: railway fare evasion, tram fare evasion, and possession of unlicensed rod and line, before moving to certain road offences if successful.

The MoJ gave the go-ahead following a consultation held on limited aspects of the Transforming justice vision statement published last September, which showed support for the move.

“We are currently developing a solution which will ensure that the principle of open justice is maintained as we move to digital channels,” it added.

“We will ensure that all interested parties, including victims, witnesses, the public and the press, will have access to case listings and outcomes where appropriate.”

It said the procedure would provide “a more efficient and proportionate way of dealing with low-level cases with no identifiable victim, freeing up magistrates’ time and space in court buildings to be focused on more complex cases”.

Defendants would always have the opportunity to present mitigating circumstances or provide information about their means, whether as part of the single justice procedure or at court, and the system would be designed to safeguard vulnerable people by clearly stating in plain English all the relevant evidence against them and the potential consequences of a criminal conviction.

Emphasising that the process would be entirely voluntary, the MoJ said anyone convicted would not be “sentenced by a computer or algorithm”.

The response paper said: “The detail of the penalty will be set out in secondary legislation and the amount of the standard penalty to be imposed on an offender will be specified for each offence. The total penalty will include a victim surcharge imposed, as now, as a percentage of the fine; a standardised amount of prosecution costs; and may include an amount to cover simple compensation for financial loss, where appropriate (e.g. unpaid ticket revenue) up to a specified level.”

The MoJ said: “Users will be advised to seek advice from Citizens Advice or a legal provider before proceeding, and will also be signposted to HMCTS Customer Service Centres which will be able to provide assisted digital support as well as answers to procedural queries.

“If it is subsequently proved that the defendant did not understand the consequence of their decision, the courts will have powers to set aside the conviction and proceedings could be started again.

The MoJ recognised the legal profession’s concerns – highlighting those expressed by Kent Law Society – that rail fare evasion could be an inappropriate offence for an automatic online conviction and standard penalty as the system would not differentiate between those who did not have the means to pay, and those who could afford to buy a ticket, but chose not to do so.

“In particular, we will ensure that our assisted digital support takes into account the needs of those who are elderly or have disabilities, those with poor literacy or English skills, and those who lack access to technology because of cost or geography.”

But it stressed that by limiting the process to non-imprisonable offences, this would catch strict liability offences such as failure to present a ticket, but not offences requiring dishonesty/intentional evasion of payment. It made no mention of the national Law EXPERT WITNESS JOURNAL

Assisted digital support is the MoJ’s response to how it will help those who have trouble with using technology as court and tribunal services move online.

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News & Events “We will work with third party providers to provide a national network of accessible, quality assured assistance. Telephone and webchat services will also be available and clearly signposted for those who already have access to IT but require extra support, and paper channels will be maintained for those who need them, as necessary.”

It promised extensive research and testing to ensure “our services will be more convenient, quicker and tailored to the needs of our users”.

Prof Charles M Court-Brown Professor of Orthopaedic Trauma - MD, FRCS Ed (Orth) Professor of Orthopaedic Trauma at the University of Edinburgh. He has a particular interest in the management of orthopaedic injuries, including both upper and lower limb injures and fractures of the pelvis, spine and neck (including whiplash injuries). He has extensive experience in the surgical management of all fractures and in the treatment of complications related to fractures.

The other issue consulted on was allowing First-tier Tribunal panels to consist of a single member unless otherwise determined by the Senior President of Tribunals. The consultation uncovered a “high level of concern” about this, particularly in jurisdictions where there may be a high proportion of vulnerable users.

He has considerable experience in emergency and trauma surgery and has extensive knowledge of the injuries caused by road traffic accidents, falls, trips, assaults and other hazards.

He has written 9 books and over 160 papers on trauma and its treatment. He has extensive medico-legal experience and averages about 300 new instructions annually.

The MoJ said: “The issues raised mainly centred on the need to retain expertise on the panel in order to reach a fair and informed decision, and the need to make sure that users receive sufficient support from the panel.

Contact: Prof C M Court-Brown Address: Craigesk House, Lothianbridge EH22 4TP, Tel: 0131 660 4227 - Email: ccb@courtbrown.com

Mr Giles Bond-Smith

Dr Ian Starke Consultant Physician in Stroke Medicine and Geriatric Medicine

MBBS MD FRCSEd GenSurg Mr Giles Bond-Smith is a Consultant Emergency, General and HepatoPancreatico-Biliary Surgeon, based in Oxford. He is also a Director at Oxford Medico-Legal Services.

MSc, MD, FRCP (Lond), FRCP (Edin)

Dr Starke has been a practising Consultant Physician in Stroke Medicine, Geriatric Medicine and General Medicine at University Hospital, Lewisham and Guy’s, King’s and St Thomas’ School of Medicine since 1988.

Mr Giles Bond-Smith works alongside a talented pool of experienced clinicians in several areas of clinical practice. We are sure Oxford Medico-Legal Services, will have a clinician with the adequate expertise in our team who will be able to help with your enquiry with a view to delivering a high quality bespoke report to your requirements. We work with only the most talented and experienced clinicians who are recognised to be leading clinicians in their field.

Specialties include:General Surgery Acute Surgery Oncology Radiology Oesophago-Gastric Surgery Pelvic Floor Surgery

Dr Starke provides expert reports for clinical negligence and medical injury cases in stroke medicine and geriatric medicine and on fitness to practise.

He has provided expert examinations and reports for immigration and HM prison services. He is able to assess clients within or outside London.

Emergency Surgery Acute Medicine Diabetes Hepato-pancreatico-Biliary Surgery Colorectal Surgery

Contact: University Hospital Lewisham Lewisham High Street, London SE13 6LH Tel: 0208 333 3379 Fax: 0208 333 3381 Email: ianstarke@nhs.net

Mr Giles Bond-Smith has extensive expert witness experience, including; Providing Medico-Legal Reports Expert Witness Statements Representation in Court Provisional Clinical Opinions on Medico-legal cases Full Clinical and Personal Injury assessments Telephone: 07947 581 188 Email: Giles.bond-smith@oxford-medicolegal-clinicians.com Website: www.oxford-medicolegal-clinicians.com Correspondence Address: The Foscote Independant Hospital, 2 Foscote Rise, Banbury, Oxfordshire OX16 9XP

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Events Starting 26 Apr 2017 09:30 in London Starting 15 May 2017 09:30 in London Starting 05 Jun 2017 09:30 in London Starting 19 Jun 2017 09:30 in Manchester

Re:Cognition Navigating the Mind-field: Mild traumatic brain injury’ Following Re:Cognition Health's successful conference in October 2015 a follow up is scheduled for 12 Oct 2017 at the Pullman Hotel, St Pancras.

Courtroom skills - overview The witness box is a lonely place. Many expert witnesses feel they’re on trial, standing in the dock rather than giving independent testimony to assist the court.

Often, experts are unfamiliar with this environment, as few cases go to a full trial.

Courtroom Skills is an intensive and highly practical training day. First, we examine the theory, practice and procedure of giving evidence, demystifying the process. Then, you’re cross-examined on a case study that you prepare in your field of expertise. A professional trainer, who’s an experienced lawyer, gives constructive feedback on your witness-box presentation.

The events aims to be an update of medical knowledge in 2017 to understand: The aetiology, mechanism and structural changes in the brain in mild traumatic brain injury (mild TBI).

The effect of mild TBI on the functioning of the brain and mind.

The complex overlap with psychological trauma e.g. PTSD and psychiatric trauma e.g. depression/anxiety, experienced by individuals with mild TBI How to quantify the neurological, psychiatric and psychological sequelae of Mild TBI by measuring the microscopic disruption of functional brain networks.

The medicolegal and personal implications of early accurate diagnosis of mild TBI. Presentation of new and advanced neuroimaging techniques and related technologies to monitor and quantify objective evidence of brain injury and response to treatment.

Starting 20 Jun 2017 09:30 in Manchester Starting 27 Apr 2017 09:30 in London Starting 16 May 2017 09:30 in London Starting 06 Jun 2017 09:30 in London Cross Examination Day - overview The Cross-Examination Day is a follow-on course to the Courtroom Skills Training.

This intensive cross-examination training course helps you as an expert witness to refine and enhance your performance, and to gain mastery of your presentation. You’ll be cross-examined on one of your completed reports, once in the morning and once in the afternoon. The second cross-examination is recorded.

Speakers: Dr Dilley, Consultant Neuropsychiatrist, Dr Allder Consultant Neurologist Dr MacSweeney CEO and Consultant Neuroradiologist Professor William Stuart Consultant Neuropathologist Dr Kirtley Thorton Consultant Neuropsychologist and Neurophysiologist www.recognitionhealth.com

Starting 21 Jun 2017 09:30 in Manchester Starting 28 Apr 2017 09:30 in London Starting 17 May 2017 09:30 in London Starting 07 Jun 2017 09:30 in London Starting 05 Jul 2017 09:30 in London Civil Law and Procedure - overview As an expert witness involved in civil proceedings in England and Wales, you need to understand the basics of law and legal procedure. This helps you work effectively and confidently, and to comply with mandatory requirements.

You’ll cover the principles of liability and quantum of damages through case studies. You’ll also look at the practical implications of the Civil Procedure Rules, legislation, guidance and judicial comment on the roles and responsibilities of experts.

Bond Solon - www.bondsolon.com Excellence in Report Writing - overview An expert witness’s report is a vital element in litigation. It must be clear, succinct, independent and well presented.

Many experts develop their own report-writing style or adopt other people’s. But they’ve rarely received constructive feedback from lawyers on what’s actually required from their written evidence.

This course explores what lawyers and the courts expect and require from an expert witness’s report.

You’ll be taught how to assess your own and other experts’ reports, and to produce, quickly and consistently, reports that are court-compliant and that can withstand cross-examination.

EXPERT WITNESS JOURNAL

Starting 08 Jun 2017 09:30 in London Family Law and Procedure - overview As an expert witness involved in family law matters in England and Wales, you need to understand the 7

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Events basics of law and legal procedure. This helps you work effectively and confidently, and to comply with mandatory requirements. In this structured training course, you’ll learn the legal principles in children’s cases, the different types of evidence and admissibility, and the impact of the Human Rights Act. You’ll also study the practical implications of court rules.

Starting 15 Jun 2017 09:30 in London

Giving Evidence in Public Inquiries A 2-day workshop for expert witnesses Workshop Overview There is little doubt that giving evidence in Public Inquiries is a challenging and demanding task that requires a high-level of professional skill. Expert witnesses need to have the confidence and skill to be able to meet three specific communication challenges.

Pro Sols - www.prosols.uk.com/

Workshop Details Dates: 07 & 08 June 2017, Time:9.30-4.30 Registration at 9.00am - 12 hours of CPD content

Expert Witness Professional Solutions provides learning that covers the entire litigation process. Our workshops give detailed help and guidance on each phase of the process: Developing your practice and winning instructions writing the expert report (at introductory and advanced levels) Attending expert’s meetings Preparing for giving oral evidence in court and other tribunals Giving oral evidence.

Writing Expert Reports – Introduction Revised and Updated for the Jackson Reforms Workshop Date & Time Dates: 12 June 2017 or 02 Oct 2017 Time: 9.30am -4.30pm - Registration at 9.00AM

RICS Expert Witness Training Training London, 11-19 May 2017 Professionals within the built environment are often called upon to act as expert witnesses in court and legal proceedings. The standard of expert evidence varies considerably and even highly-qualified professionals can benefit from developing a full understanding of the pressures, expectations and legal and ethical duties of an expert witness to the instructing party, the other side and most importantly, to the courts.

This high-level and practical course will equip you with the detailed knowledge, practical skills and confidence to prepare for and conduct an expert meeting effectively and meet our world-leading standards.

Our expert witness training workshops are held in Central London 3 to 4 times per year. We limit the size of the workshops to allow plenty of time for interaction and discussion during the presentations and breaks. Many of our presenters have worked with us for over 15 years and have developed and refined our workshops as the role of experts has evolved and changed. No one else can offer this level of continuity in the delivery of learning.

For more information, please call Lynden Alexander on 020 7421 7476 or email him at lynden@prosols.uk.com

www.rics.org/uk/training-events/training-courses/ expert-witness-training-/london/

Writing Evidence in Planning Appeals Date: 21 April 2017 Time: 9.30-4.30pm - Registration at 9.00am

Are you an expert witness giving evidence in court?

Don’t travel to court, give evidence via VIDEO LINK Are you a solicitor in need of an expert witness?

We specialise in connecting witnesses to court via VIDEO LINK

Contact Daniel Shaw Court Video Link Specialist Email: daniels@vc2.co.uk Tel :0203 751 4577 Web: www.videoconferencinglondon.co.uk

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Need to give evidence in Court?

Attend your hearing via Video Link Join the thousands experts and law firms who have used our service to connect to court via VIDEO LINK

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Video Conferencing for Experts Video Conferencing London provide video link services to witnesses wanting to connect to Courts in the UK and all over the world. Our video link services have been very popular among expert witnesses who frequently travel to Court to give their expert witness statements.

Case Study Expert witness Dr Dawn Saunders (Consultant in Paediatric Neuroradiology, GOSH) contacted Video Conferencing London on recommendation from a colleague. Dr Saunders was due to give evidence to a Court within a week.

We pride our selves on the quality of our IP and ISDN connections to Courts. To maintain that quality we ensure we carry our video link tests before each and every hearing to make sure there are no changes to the video and audio prior to going live.

After downloading our secure software and spending 5 minutes testing we were in a position to connect Dr Saunders to the Court ready for the test and subsequent trial.

We have since connected Dr Saunders to several Courts using our secure software from her home or place of work. On all occasions both Dr Saunders and the Court were able to clearly see and hear each other in clear audio and video quality.

To enable the service you must download our secure software, which will give you access to our secure server and ISDN services which ultimately connect to the Court.

Dr Saunders quote “The boys at Videoconferencing London take away all the stress of setting up and using video conferencing services and allow me to fully concentrate on my work.

Best wishes, Dawn.�

To maintain security we provide a unique meeting ID for each test and live hearing session.

As it currently stands solicitors usually bear the cost for the video link . The witness simply passes our contact details to the solicitor, we then liaise with solicitors and the Courts to arrange all testing and the final hearing link.

If you too would like to join your fellow professionals giving evidence via video link contact Daniel Shaw on 0203 751 4577 or email daniels@vc2.co.uk

Find out what other experts and solicitors say about our service www.videoconferencinglondon.co.uk/testimonials

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CPS and NPCC launch new Honour-Based Violence/Abuse and Forced Marriage Protocol The CPS and police have published the first ever joint honourbased violence/abuse and forced marriage protocol, outlining their commitment to the successful investigation and prosecution of these crimes. The protocol recognises the importance of strong partnership working between these two agencies The protocol highlights the unique complexities of these cases and the barriers victims face in coming forward to report. For example the potential that these crimes may not only be committed by family members but also by those who are part of the wider community. Rather than families and communities protecting the victim, they will often protect the perpetrator. The protocol emphasises the importance for multiagency working and engagement with specialist third sector organisations.

The protocol highlights: A number of offences can be committed in the context of honour-based violence/abuse and forced marriage, including common assault, GBH, harassment, kidnap, rape, threats to kill and murder.

A victim's family and/or members of their community may go to great lengths to discover their whereabouts once a crime has been reported. The risks to the victim from their entire family, the offender's family and the community should be considered not just the direct risk of the immediate perpetrators on the victim.

The CPS has led the development of this protocol, as part of a wider commitment to improve performance in this area. The protocol enables police and prosecutors to quickly understand the action they must take when a crime is reported to the police and referred to the CPS for a charging decision, ensuring the safety of the victim is at the heart of the process.

Cases may involve vulnerable victims and witnesses who may have the least confidence in the criminal justice process. Victims often feel a loyalty to their family/community and this may make them particularly reluctant to support a prosecution.

National Police Chiefs' Council Lead for Honourbased Abuse, Forced Marriage and Female Genital Mutilation, Commander Mak Chishty said: "So-called honour based violence/abuse and forced marriage are distressing and complex crime types which blight, and in some cases take, lives. Often the victim will feel unable to speak out about the abuse they are experiencing and will suffer in silence.

Jenny Hopkins, Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS East of England and lead on Violence against Women and Girls said: "This protocol emphasises how important it is for the police and CPS to work together closely, from the outset, to build the strongest possible cases. These cases are complex and the safety of the victim is vital.

"So-called honour-based violence/abuse and forced marriage is increasingly being committed online, usually by victims' families, extended families and communities. We know that offenders follow a course of conduct which is used to control, coerce, dominate or exploit a victim.

"The police service and CPS have an equal role to play in supporting victims and witnesses of these harmful practices whilst bringing offenders to justice. Our focus remains on putting victims, their safety and well-being at the heart of our investigations.

"It is important for police and prosecutors to remember that these cases may involve some of our most vulnerable victims and witnesses who may have the least confidence in the criminal justice process.

"I will be working with chief officers across England and Wales to ensure that this protocol is shared and used by officers on the ground."

"In improving the criminal justice response to these crimes, this protocol is a key step."

Hannana Siddiqui, Head of Policy and Research at Southall Black Sisters said:

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Raising awareness among prosecutors of specific new and emerging trends (the CPS will work closely with third sector experts and specialist prosecutors on this.)

"Southall Black Sisters welcome this protocol. It is urgently needed to improve the policing and prosecution of forced marriage and honour based violence, which have a devastating effect on the lives of women and girls from black and minority communities.

Examining how forced marriage offences are being prosecuted currently, to take steps to address identified issues.

"The protocol also recognises the need for the police and CPS to work in partnership with third sector black and minority women's organisations like ourselves, which are on the frontline of enabling survivors to access the criminal law and support them through the legal process.

Other information: CPS has data on cases flagged as forced marriage, as well as those which have been considered and prosecuted under the new forced marriage legislation.

In 2015-16, the volumes of forced marriage referrals (90), cases charged (57)and prosecuted (53) were the highest volumes ever recorded. 60.4% (32) of these cases were successful.

"We hope that this protocol and partnership working will help more women and girls to come forward to obtain both protection and justice."

The protocol is a key component of the HonourBased Violence/Abuse and Forced Marriage Action Plan introduced by the CPS earlier this year.

There were five prosecutions under the specific forced marriage offence in 2015/16 - these involved five defendants prosecuted in two cases. Both prosecutions were unsuccessful as the victims withdrew their support for the prosecution. There were six prosecutions for a breach of a forced marriage protection order in 2015/16. One defendant was successfully prosecuted and another was convicted of more serious offences. Two were unsuccessful due to victim issues, and one was

The Action Plan also includes: Additional training for CPS staff to increase awareness and expertise of prosecutors handling these cases.

Supporting the granting of anonymity for victims of forced marriage.

Never miss a copy of the Expert Witness Journal by purchasing a subscription, receive your copy direct from our printer.

Call 0161 834 0017 or email:admin@expertwitness.co.uk

Dr Joshua Adedokun FCARCSI, FRCA, FFPMRCA

Chronic Pain Expert Dr Adedokun has extensive clinical experience in the management of various Chronic Pain Syndromes including persistent Neck, Back, Neuropathic or Complex Regional Pain Syndrome especially following Personal and Occupational Injuries.

He also has wide experience in Medical Negligence claims.

Listed on the UK register of Expert Witnesses, an APIL expert, Member of Society of Expert Witnesses, Expert Witness Institute and is a Sweet & Maxwell accredited Expert Witness 2015.

Dr Adedokun accepts instructions from Claimants, Defendants and as a Single Joint Expert.

He covers Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Birmingham & London.

Other locations and Domiciliary visits can be arranged.

Contact:

Tel: 01625 526 665 Email: expertpainreports@gmail.com Web: www.expertpainreports.co.uk Spire Manchester, 170 Barlow Moor Road, Manchester M20 2AF

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Eyelock Patents Iris Recognition EyeLock, a leader of iris-based identity authentication solutions, has been issued U.S. Patent No. 9,613,281, broadly covering the linking of an iris image with a face image acquired in sequence (during the same transaction) and represents the company’s 45th issued patent.

Iris authentication is highly secure because no two irises are alike and the iris is the most accurate human identifier other than DNA. These new imaging technologies that are now available have changed the way retina specialists evaluate patients, revealing structures that previously could not be visualized. Allowing physicians to go where they could not previously go in the detection and treatment of retinal diseases.

The patent is for a method in which images of the iris and face are tracked in a sequence that validates that both images are from the same, live person. The importance in the process is the real-time tracking that links the iris image to the face image.

Mr Kim Neal Hakin

One use is where a mobile phone incorporating EyeLock’s patented method would use iris authentication sequentially linked to facial imaging or recognition to provide a high level of assertion that the person conducting the transaction is real and not a machine or a hack.

FRCS, FRCOphth Mr Kim Hakin is a Consultant Ophthalmologist, providing a service both in the NHS and privately.

He undertakes medico legal work at; Optegra Eye Hospital Central London, 25 Queen Anne Street, London, W1G 9HT and The Nuffield Hospital, Taunton.

This is merely one example of how EyeLock has achieved significant technological breakthroughs and solved integration challenges that have historically been a barrier to mass-market adoption of iris authentication technology.

His special interests include the management of cataracts, ocular trauma, eyelid and lacrimal surgery, including cosmetic eyelid surgery (blepharoplasty).

Mr Hakin holds the Expert Witness Certificate from Bond Solon/Cardiff University, is a member of The Expert Witness Institute. Also Expert Advisor to Nuffield Hospitals, and formerly to the Healthcare Commission, and regularly undertakes work for organisations such as the General Medical Council, Medical Defence Union, Medical Protection Society, NHS Litigation Authority, as well as many solicitors' firms and legal agencies.

In addition, the Company’s approach provides maximum flexibility by offering designs that have either on-board or host-based processing and illumination.

Algorithm performance capabilities for speed and accuracy have been validated by Novetta, a leader in advanced analytics technology and independent biometric testing, as unmatched in the market.

Tel: 01823 250614 Mob 07887 651551 Email: kimhakin@aol.com, carolmatravers@gmail.com.

Web: www.kimhakin.com

EyeLock is an acknowledged leader in advanced iris authentication for the Internet of Things (IoT), providing the highest level of security with EyeLock ID™ technology.

All correspondence to Nuffield Health Taunton Hospital, Staplegrove Elm, Taunton TA2 6AN, or by email.

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Contact: Miss Nadia Bouras Tel: 020 8852 8522 Fax: 020 7515 7861 Email: eyes@dbcg.co.uk Web: www.dbcg.co.uk DBCG Legal Ltd, 36 New Atlas Wharf, Arnhem Place, London E14 3SS EXPERT WITNESS JOURNAL

Professor Charles Claoué

12

Mr. Louis Clearkin

Mr. Saj Khan

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History repeats itself; what is happening today, did happen yesterday and would happen tomorrow for the Elderly Dr Bashir Qureshi FRCGP, FRCPCH, AFOM-RCP, Hon FFSRH-RCOG, Hon MAPHA – USA, Hon FRSPH • Expert Witness in Cultural, Religious & Ethnic issues in Litigation.

• Expert Witness in GP Clinical Negligence.

• Author, Transcultural Medicine; Dealing with patients from different Cultures, Religions & Ethnicities.

• Former GP & Paediatrics Clinical Public Health Medical Officer, London, UK. patients in many hospitals saying "NTR" (Not to Resuscitate.).

The Judges, Juries, legal profession and Expert Witnesses might wish to consider the following ten facts which I witnessed as medical doctor in London for 53 Years (1964 to 2017) and also being an Expert Witness.

B. in 1966, I prescribed Penbritin (antibiotic) to a 70 years old English woman, with acute bronchitis, in a medical ward. The nurse ward sister told the Consultant who told me off on next day round. I agreed with him as I needed a testimonial to get a next job. Nevertheless, I often prescribed Antibiotics whenever needed to prevent pneumonia and justified in patients’ notes legally. Save life and do no harm to patients is a part of Hippocrates Oath; which no doctor now takes when they qualify, unbeknown to public.

1. Elderly patients include Judges, Juries, lawyers, doctors and politicians; they all need appropriate care. We should accept this fact and not consider patients as others only.

2. It applies to all organs of the body, especially the brain; if you use it you do not lose it. Please continue till you are unable to use.

3. The distinction and discrimination are based on genetics, environment, age, gender, social class. culture, religion or non- religious beliefs, race, education and opportunities. I have seen my colleagues denying this fact, in parts as it suits them. Let us accept that we cannot eliminate discrimination and install distinction totally but we can deal with these factors practically, especially when dealing with the elderly. These are real and relevant entities.

C. Sometimes, Patient's next of kins decline or agree with a houseman not to resuscitate or prescribe antibiotics. I know that once a semiconscious patient, who was a doctor, heard a houseman talking to his wife, asked for Ampicillin (antibiotic) and lived a few more weeks.

4. Sometimes, it is better to be lonely in old age than being in bad company or money seeker carers / do gooders. Everything is relative, especially good and bad.

D. From 2016, the GP surgery computer puts pressure on doctors, in English ways, not to prescribe antibiotics, ibuprofen, paracetamol, bonjela and so on. What is left to save lives?

5. Euthanasia for the elderly patients is a hidden British custom; A. in 1964, as a House man doctor in London; I noted a few notices on bedside of some elderly

6. Only in Britain, I observed that Academics and Politicians hate each other, often behind the scene.

They may deny it. What can we do? If they could communicate well mutually, it could help the public.

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7. Politicians are using "Patients Power" with "Care Quality Commission inspections" to close hospital and Revalidations to reduce number of doctors, to save money but not patients. What Americans do openly (e.g. Donald Trump) the British do in cognition, we cannot stop them, both are right as they have their interests, let us be honest.

Dr Bashir Qureshi FRCGP, FRCPCH, Hon. FFRSH, RCOG, AFOM-RCP, MICGP, DCH, DHMSA, DPMSA, FRIPH, Hon.FRSH, Hon.MAPHA-USA

Expert Witness in Cultural, Religious & Ethnic Issues in Litigation.

Expert Witness in GP Clinical Negligence.

8. Elderly patients, even doctors, seek private prescriptions, operations and treatment to survive longer. They are the lucky ones.

As a specialist in Cultures, Religions and Ethnicities, since 1992, I have written reports, given advice, and evidence in tribunals or courts. In cases of medical negligence, discrimination in employments, personal injuries, accidents, murder inquiries by police, family or marital disputes, child abuse, sexual abuse, immigration, asylum and other litigation cases.

9. In 1969, we GPs used to do home visits to see healthy old people to reduce loneliness. On my one visit, an elderly English woman requested me politely to treat her at her home and not to send her to the local hospital. She did live long, no surprise.

Languages spoken: English, Urdu, Hindi, Punjabi.

10. Birds of a feather flock together. There is a natural segregation in Britain in caring for the elderly patients and care providers, which are from varying groups. Declining national and local finances are real issues affecting the NHS delivery of care. No one is to be blamed, I am afraid. Beware, if you wish to live longer, help yourself. Even God helps those who help themselves. ■

Author of ‘TRANSCULTURAL MEDICINE’ Dealing with Patients from different Cultures, Religions & Ethnicities.

Contact: Tel: 0208 570 4008 Fax: 0208 570 4008 Mob: 07710 402 276 Email: drbashirqureshi@hotmail.com Web: www.drbashirqureshi.com 32 Legrace Avenue, Hounslow West, Middlesex TW4 7RS

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Our psychiatrists and psychologists operate in London and the South East, having considerable experience in providing medico-legal reports in a range of areas, including: • • • • • • •

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Tel: 01424 444130 Fax: 01424 234625 General Email: office@expertinmind.co.uk Web: www.expertinmind.co.uk EXPERT WITNESS JOURNAL

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How to Handle Complaints Effectively Dr Katherine Grant, Medicolegal Adviser at Medical Protection, provides a series of practical tips to help you manage the complaints process Many doctors will receive a complaint at some time in their career. At Medical Protection we understand how stressful such matters can be.

Ideally, the complaints process should provide you with the opportunity to explore the issues raised, identify any specific learning points and put things right where necessary. Reflection and learning from complaints is a valuable skill for all doctors, and adopting a positive manner and attitude when responding to a complaint can be a sign of true professionalism.

Unfortunately occasionally things do go wrong in healthcare and it is inevitable that sometimes patients are dissatisfied, disappointed or upset with the care that they have received.

Good complaints handling is key in resolving matters at an early stage. If you provide an open, honest and conciliatory response it may prevent the patient from pursuing other avenues such as a Medical Council complaint or financial compensation. It could also potentially reduce the workload involved in responding to the complaint and minimise any damage to your reputation.

Steps for effective complaints handling 1) Receiving the complaint • The complaint should be logged or passed to the appropriate colleague as necessary.

• Check whether any immediate action is necessary in relation to the patient’s care.

• Ensure appropriate consent is sought from the patient if a third party has complained on their behalf.

Complaints processes Whether you work in a large specialist hospital or a small clinic, it is useful to have a local complaints procedure in place. An effective complaints handling process should be flexible and responsive, allowing both doctor and patient to be clear on how a complaint will be dealt with, and in what approximate timescale.

EXPERT WITNESS JOURNAL

2) Acknowledge the complaint and inform your MDO • Include an initial apology at this stage as appropriate and outline the complaints policy if available.

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• Outline the plan for investigation, likely timescale and how the response will be shared.

Apologies An apology, expressing regret about the patient’s experience or emotions, is not an admission of liability and is appropriate when a patient has suffered harm from their healthcare or experienced disappointment. An apology is an acknowledgement that something has gone wrong and a way of expressing empathy. Contrary to popular belief, apologies tend to prevent formal complaints rather than the reverse.

3) The investigation • Examine the concerns raised by reviewing records and obtaining statements. Draw up conclusions and an action plan as required.

4) Response • Include the finding of the investigation.

• See below for detailed advice on drafting a response letter.

Meetings and mediation Mediation through meeting with complainants can be valuable in resolving complaints at an early stage.

A face-to-face discussion of issues should be considered and offered as part of effective complaints handling.

5) Monitoring and review • Is there opportunity for audit or further teaching or training sessions, or focused CPD? • Can any lessons learnt be shared more widely?

Pre-meeting preparation is essential in setting boundaries and expectations, as well as making the most of everyone’s time: • Ensure that the time and place are convenient for all concerned.

• Set a timeframe for the meeting.

• Clarify beforehand the particular issues that the complainant would like to discuss.

How to write a response Sometimes complaints can feel personal, particularly if a patient questions your skills or decision-making as their doctor. Even if you feel upset after receiving a complaint it is essential, when drafting a written response, that you remain objective and write in a conciliatory tone.

The purpose of a complaint response is to try and resolve matters, not perpetuate further correspondence. Responses which blame the complainant or lack reflection may lead to escalation such as a further complaint to the Medical Council, or a negligence claim. An empathetic and conciliatory tone can help to bring matters to a swift conclusion.

• Agree who will be present and their role. You should invite the complainant to bring a friend and/or advocate. You may want to have someone else present to take some notes.

• Have any relevant notes, letters, procedures, clinical guidelines or protocols etc. available in case they need to be referred to.

The elements of a good response letter are: • An opening paragraph which sets the response in context; contains an apology or sentiment of regret and acknowledges the patient’s feelings of distress as a result of what happened. This is recommended whether the complaint is justified or not.

• Agree in advance that all parties to the meeting will be treated with respect and courtesy. If this does not occur then the meeting may need to be curtailed.

• Consider if the complainant has any particular needs – for example, an interpreter or access issues.

• A summary of the main issues the patient has raised in their letter. This will also help you focus your response.

At the meeting: • Make sure phones are switched off or diverted.

• An account of what action has been taken to investigate the complaint.

• Begin with introductions and confirm if notes are being taken and by whom. This can often avoid disagreements later over exactly what was said and agreed.

• A clear explanation in response to each of the issues raised, identifying any failings and apologising as necessary.

• It is usually helpful at the beginning of a meeting to offer an apology and the hope that matters can be resolved.

• Details of any changes that have been made to reduce the risk of the issue happening again, and any reflections or learning points drawn from the matter.

• Give the complainant the opportunity to outline their outstanding concerns in order that you can then provide a response.

• An invitation to meet or contact you again if they have any further questions.

• Do not feel under pressure to answer any questions to which you do not have an immediate answer. You can offer to check on a point and get back to the complainant with a response.

• A reiteration of your apology for what occurred.

• Your account should be typed and free of jargon with any clinical terms or concepts explained.

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• If notes are taken it is good practice to share these in draft form with the complainant to ensure that everyone agrees that they are an accurate record of the meeting.

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• At the end of the meeting make sure everyone is clear what the next steps are and provide details of the next step in the complaints.

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At Medical Protection we understand that dealing with complaints can be stressful and time-consuming.

If handled well, complaints can be a valuable source of feedback. However, poor handling can lead to an escalation of concerns. If you receive a complaint or are asked to provide a response by your employer, contact your MBO for advice.

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This article first appeared in Casebook Asia, and is the property of Medical Protection Many thanks for permission to reproduce.

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Need an expert fast Call our free searchline on 0161 834 0017 or visit www.expertwitness.co.uk

Dr Gordon Williams

Dr J P Rosie

Consultant Cardiologist

Forensic Odontology

BDS MSc

MB BCh FRCP FACC Spire Leeds Hospital Jackson Avenue, Leeds LS8 1NT Tel: Fax: Mob:

0113 218 5943 0113 218 5987 07702 550 758

Email: sandra.ellerbeck@spirehealthcare.com Member British Cardiac Society Consultant Cardiologist at Yorkshire Heart Centre, Leeds General Infirmary and York Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, involving all aspects of congenital and acquired cardiology, the management thereof and invasive and non-invasive diagnostic procedures.

Civil aviation approved cardiologist.

Please contact Dr Rosie at; 6, Harrockwood Close Irby, Wirral, Merseyside CH61 3XY Tel: 01745 443175 Mobile: 07885 158 039 / 07963 963194 Fax: 01745 344574 Email: john_rosie@lineone.net John.Rosie@cd-tr.wales.nhs.uk(w) GDC No. 44540

Medico-legal expertise in Invasive and non-invasive investigations, Diagnostic techniques, Coronary artery disease, Hypertension, Heart failure, Congenital heart disease, Sudden cardiac death screening and General cardiology.

EXPERT WITNESS JOURNAL

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Brexit and the Definition of an Expert Paul Taplin - Diales Quantum expert, addresses the measure of an expert, and the undeniable truth that an expert is only so if someone else believes it.

In June I, like many other millions of people, was glued to my television as the referendum on whether the UK should or should not remain in the European Union unfolded.

This got me thinking about whether the voters believed these individuals were in fact ‘experts’ and who defines whether someone is an expert or not?

Bringing this back to construction terms, there are numerous individuals in our industry who claim they are 'experts' whether that be in respect of quantum, delay, technical, engineering or indeed a multitude of other specialties. But who says so and what are the criteria?

Even if you don’t like politics, or have strong views on whether to remain or leave, it was undeniably a roller coaster couple of days (that stretched on throughout the summer).

Whilst I was enjoying my breakfast, watching Sky News, it became clear that the leave campaign was gaining momentum and would ultimately win. The various presenters offered up many reasons as to why the voters had seemingly gone against the majority of politicians and other influential individuals.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines an expert as, “a person who is very knowledgeable about or skillful in a particular area.’’ This doesn’t seem to be particularly helpful, as who deems that a person is very knowledgeable – isn’t that subjective?

And then it came… a presenter stated that the UK people voted against the establishment and ignored the advice of experts. Woah! Hang on a minute… ignored the advice of experts… surely not.

My 16-year-old son claims to know everything about everything and, if you were to ask him, he’d tell you he was very knowledgeable in all things related to football and cars. But, when pressed on simple aspects it becomes clear that he’s neither an expert on football or cars, in fact, it seems to me he’s not an expert on anything.

That comment was reiterated a number of times throughout the day, as the shock of Brexit started to sink in and it got me wondering, who are these 'experts' and why didn’t the voters believe them?

I’ve heard many people in our industry say that to be an expert you need to have a sufficient amount of ‘grey hair’. Now, I don’t think that’s meant literally but more of a reference to the fact an expert needs to be experienced. Again, that’s somewhat subjective. Is five years enough? 10 years? 20 years? And indeed, what kind of experience was gained in those years?

It became apparent that the ‘experts’ in question were the financial analysts and advisors who had told the nation that leaving Europe would result in some sort of financial meltdown. Over 17 million people voted to leave, and I’m pretty sure they weren’t all financial analysts and advisors. So why would they go against the advice of an ‘expert’?

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Notwithstanding any of the above, it seems to me that many people can hold themselves out as being an expert, but whether or not you really are one will probably be defined by others. If you are appointed and you demonstrate sound knowledge and expertise in a particular field or area, then it’s likely you’ll be appointed again. This will then likely gain momentum and in time you will become an established expert in your own right. My point being that, rather than the individual themselves, it’s actually the market that will dictate whether you’re an expert or not.

What about qualifications? Are they important?

Can you be a quantity surveying expert if you’re not a chartered quantity surveyor? Some people will say yes, others will disagree. Again it’s subjective.

Lawyers have their own views about what constitutes an expert and, for them, one of the key requirements is the need to have experience of being cross examined. This is because a case can be won or lost on the confidence of the expert when presenting evidence at a hearing.

Within Diales we try to encapsulate some of the most common requirements that have been expressed to us by lawyers and clients, thus to be a DIALES expert an individual must satisfy the following: ●

Have at least 15 years of relevant experience.

●

Have been cross examined or completed an approved training course which includes cross examination.

●

Spend at least 50% of your time on expert witness commissions.

Going back to Brexit, it seems to me that the voters decided that the financial experts were nothing of the sort and that their forecast for economic meltdown was based on little more than speculation. This was of course a unique event in UK political history, but to me it again shows that it is the opinion of others that defines whether, in fact, you are an expert or not.

Paul Taplin FRICS Head of Diales (Middle East) Diales is part of the Driver Group plc and specialises in providing Expert Witness services to the global engineering and construction industry.”

This means that when lawyers or clients appoint a Diales expert they have the comfort of knowing these criteria have been met.

Dr Duncan Dymond MD FRCP FACC FESC Mr Jeffrey S Hillman

Consultant Cardiologist

Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon MB ChB DO FRCS (Edin) FRCOphth

Dr Duncan S Dymond has been a consultant cardiologist at St Bartholomew's Hospital, now a part of Barts Health NHS Trust since 1987.

He has been undertaking expert witness and medicolegal work for more than 5 years and has completed his Cardiff University Bond Solon expert Witness course.

I am a Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon and was an NHS Consultant at St James's University Hospital and Hon Senior Lecturer in the University of Leeds for 25 years and continue in private practice. My interests are general ophthalmic medicine and surgery with special interests in cataract surgery, intraocular lenses and glaucoma as well as trauma and medical negligence.

Dr Dymond currently completes 1-2 medicolegal reports per week, for personal injury and medical negligence, with roughly a 60/40% split claimant/defendant.

I have been preparing reports supported by Literature references for over 20 years. Between 1992 and 2015 I have advised in 1330 cases, 70% for Claimants' solicitors, 27% for Defence solicitors and 3% on joint instruction

He has also completed expert witness work for the General Medical Council, the Medical Defence Union and the Crown Prosecution Service as well as accepting private instructions directly for solicitors. He has also provided mediolegal opinions for cases in Singapore.

I have a rapid response facility for cases with tight time constraints.

Contact: 135 Wigton Lane, Leeds, West Yorkshire LS17 8SH Tel: 0113 268 9601 Fax: 0113 237 0884 Email: Jeffeye@btinternet.com Website: www.mrhillman.com

T: 0207 079 4260 E: medicolegal@harleycardiology.co secretary@drduncandymond.com W: www.drduncandymond.com 110 Harley Street, London, W1G 7JG

EXPERT WITNESS JOURNAL

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Join our Expert in Raising Funds to Build More Classrooms in a School in Rural Cambodia Kanseng Village, near the ancient city of Ankor Wat, is a community development association which is host to a Primary School. The school had been destroyed during the Pol Pot regime.

In 2008, Sarha Koch, an English tour guide whose parents taught at the school, decided to revive the school by organising community based tours for visitors & encouraging them to donate money for improving the conditions.

The Kanseng is a government run school catering for 450 children in 5 classrooms. Outside support has enabled the school to provide books & educational resources for the children; World Food Programme (WFP) provides breakfast & a Cambodia New Year’s Party raised money for a library. Singapore University students remodelled the school & volunteers from Korea built 3 toilets.

meals and some of the classes which currently ave to be given outside.

My wife Olga and I were very much taken by what we found when Sarha took us to the school and we saw the lovely children, and impressive class room teaching. When we found out that the school needed more classrooms to expand as it is the only school for the region, we decided to help.

Kansang Village School Project Dear Friends and Colleagues; Please lend me a moment of your time so I can tell you how we were touched during our visit to Cambodia last year, and decided to raise charitable money to help build an extension to a village school near Siem Riep.

The school has just 5 classrooms. Outside donations particularly from Sarha Koch, has enabled the school to provide books & educational resources for the children, The World Food Programme (WFP) provides breakfast & a Cambodia New Year’s Party raised money for a library. Singapore University students remodelled the school & volunteers from Korea built 3 toilets.

Kanseng Village, near the city of Siem Riep & the ancient city of Ankor Watt, is a community development association which supports the Kanseng Primary School to provide good quality education for children.

The current plan is: 1. To remodel the current kitchen shed to create storage space & make it a more hygienic environment.

The school had been destroyed during the Pol Pot regime. In 2008, Sarha Koch, an English tour guide whose parents taught at the school, decided to revive the school by organising community based tours for visitors & encouraging them to donate money for to improve buildings for the school

2. Make 2 more classrooms for secondary school children who currently study in outdoor classrooms.

3. Tile the classroom floors to reduce the spread of dust.

4. Build a small wooden house to accommodate volunteers to help the staff educate an increasing number of children.

The school provides basic education up to O-level standard for 380 children, ages 6 to 16 attending in shifts. Cambodia is one of the poorest countries in the world, and primary education is just developing.

The aim is to expand the school to take more children in classrooms and provide a covered kitchen for EXPERT WITNESS JOURNAL

We plan to raise £13,000 for the whole project.

Your donations can make our goal turn to reality.

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YOU CAN DONATE AS LITTLE OR AS MUCH AS YOU WILL. When we reach: £500 it will be possible to tile the classroom floors. £2,500 will help in remodelling the kitchen. £5,000 will build a classroom.

With your contribution, together we will be able to reach our goal of building a roof over the pupils’ head & make their environment healthier.

We have sought the assistance of Hope for the Young (www.hopefortheyoung.org.uk) to facilitate the transfer of the funds, without any extra cost to us, and this will add 25% gift aid to the donations of those of you who are the higher tax payers in the UK. There are several ways to make donations: You can make your donation using the following options: 1. FOR DIRECT BANK TRANSFER directly to the LLOYDS ACCOUNT 'HOPE FOR THE YOUNG: sort code: 30 99 86 account number: 83863160.

This method avoids all charges.

We hope we can depend on you to please help us with this project.

Steven and Olga Hirsch Professor Steven Hirsch acts as an expert witness to produce medical reports and appear in court.

He is highly valued as an expert in Employment and Personal Injury matters for the Claimant or Respondent.

2. You can send a check payable to 'Hope for the Young – Cambodia' to the charity’s address: 78 York Street, London W1H 1DP. 3. Or use the Donate page on the charity’s website: www.hopefortheyoung.org.uk. Please select the donation for ‘Cambodia’ option before making the donation.

EXPERT WITNESS JOURNAL

Picture above, classroom at Kanseng Village school Below, Steven and Olga Hirsch with teachers and some of the team.

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Independent, Scientific Expertise Key in Food Safety Disputes

By Dr Peter Wareing, Food Safety & Manufacturing Consultant and Expert Witness, Leatherhead Food Research peter.wareing@leatherheadfood.com The validity of experts has been called into question recently – in this article, Dr Peter Wareing discusses the independence and scientific rigour which expert witnesses need to deploy in unearthing the evidence to settle food safety disputes.

Responsibility of the expert witness A food safety expert witness assists the court in reaching its verdict by helping it to understand, through technical analysis and opinion, the reason(s) for the issue being presented. The evidence that the expert witness presents is often factually based, and any opinion should be stated as such.

The food & beverage industry has a legal obligation to provide food that complies with the requirements of the relevant food law and ensure that it is safe and fit for human consumption. Sometimes things might go awry from a food safety, traceability or labelling perspective, leading to product withdrawals, recalls, food poisoning and potential legal action, all of which could call upon the requirements for an expert witness. The expert witness could be retained to review the evidence, prepare a joint statement outlining the points on which the various experts agree and disagree, or undertake laboratory studies to validate hypotheses. This article highlights three food-safety related case studies where scientific evidence and multidisciplinary expertise have played a key role during legal proceedings.

EXPERT WITNESS JOURNAL

In the course of their investigations, an expert witness could find significant food safety issues with respect to evidence associated with ‘their side’, which could have led to the issue being presented. Even though this may not be helpful to the client’s case, the responsibility of the expert witness is to the court, and it is their duty as a food safety professional to report this. It is then down to the legal team to use the evidence as they see fit.

Technical analysis The expert witness should look at the way the evidence was gathered and critically appraise its veracity. Case studies 1 and 2 highlight the impor22

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tance of the expert witness’s scientific expertise in relation to the taking of samples to be used as evidence. If staff involved in the collection of evidence are not used to taking samples, they may not store and analyse them in a way that maintains their microbiological integrity. For example, in order for aseptic practices and sample traceability to be maintained, samples must be stored at the right temperature and analysed as quickly as possible using the correct methods. If these factors are not taken into account, there could be issues with cross contamination of samples, growth or death of microorganisms or a failure to isolate the causative organism, all of which could lead to charges being rejected.

ined for common indicator bacteria, which would be expected from salad and vegetable preparation activities. The length of time between sampling and analysis could have allowed significant growth of the indicator bacteria prior to analysis being carried out.

The evidence was ruled inadmissible.

The ability to integrate laboratory studies can be invaluable in validating hypotheses; providing scientific evidence to prove the theory. Case study 3 highlights how the “challenge testing” of simulated fresh products can show how the growth of microorganisms can occur.

Case study 3 Integrating laboratory studies to validate hypotheses Company A made an ingredient for company B which was used in a confectionery product. This ingredient purportedly caused fermentative yeast growth in the finished product. The resulting spoilage led to the loss of key contracts for company B. Company A was sued for these contract losses.

Case study 1 Correct conclusions from the evidence In a case of suspected food poisoning at a hotel the prosecution used evidence to serve ancillary charges of poor hygienic practices. On reviewing the evidence it was found that the food sampled was from a meal frozen by the chef at the same time the suspect meal had been prepared, the meals that had purportedly caused the food poisoning were not available for sampling. The chef had not placed the food in sterile bags nor used sterile utensils, both of which could lead to cross-contamination. In addition, the wrong indicator bacteria had been chosen to highlight purportedly poor kitchen hygiene practices. The ancillary charges were rejected after submission of the counter claims.

Working for the defence, Leatherhead Food Research was able to demonstrate that although the ingredient was contaminated with fermentative yeasts the contamination level was so low that spoilage could only have occurred if significant mishandling of the ingredient took place during the manufacturing process at company B’s site. Audits of both sites, coupled with challenge testing of simulated finished products, showed how the growth could have occurred. The case was settled out of court, with the claimant’s claim being much reduced as a consequence of Leatherhead’s research and report.

However, the victim’s food poisoning symptoms and timescale were such that the victims must have contracted food poisoning from the hotel restaurant. The evidence submitted from the defence side did not, and was not intended to, rebut the causation from the prosecution but it did serve to rebut several of the ancillary charges.

Expert witness Expert witne ess industryy ffood ood industr specialists sp ecialists

Case study 2 Evaluating the evidence A restaurant purportedly caused food poisoning from a meal resulting in the hospitalisation of several of the diners with many others being nursed in their homes.

Leatherhead Food Research was called upon by the defence team to review the evidence.

Leatherhead Food Research provides expertise Leatherhead and support support to t the global food and beverage sector. se ctor. Our significant si experience in food science, safety sa fety pr practices, actic manufacturing processes and ffood ood la law w and rregulation egulation ena e enable ble us tto o pr provide ovide invaluable in valuable a advice dvice tto o client clients ts in involved volved in a dispute. dispute.

We helped mediation and W e have h ve help ha h l ed iin me diation dia i situations situa it tions i d have h have provided pr ovided expert expert witnesses witnesses at at legal legal hearings. hearings.

It was clear that the restaurant had caused the food poisoning because the infection reports of the symptoms, timelines and meals consumed fitted the timelines and symptoms for the pathogen. The defendants pleaded guilty to these charges.

The prosecution tried to increase the scale of the offences using evidence taken by swabs from kitchen surfaces and equipment after vegetable preparation activities had taken place to show purportedly high levels of contamination. Upon examination of the evidence Leatherhead found that the swabs were analysed 36 hours after being taken and were examEXPERT WITNESS JOURNAL

Interested in discussing Interested potential ap otential case? case?

Get in ttouch: ouch: T:: + T +44 44 1372 1372 376 376761 761 help@leatherheadfood.com help@leatherheadfood.com www.leatherheadfood.com w ww.leatherheadfood.com

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Balanced, fair objectives Independent assessment by a credible and respected industry organisation is crucial during food safety disputes. To be of assistance to a court, expert evidence must provide sufficient detail to be able to convince the judge that the expertâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s opinions are well founded.

Any research, either paper based or via laboratory studies, must be designed, carried out, analysed and reported in a balanced and fair manner, with the objective of ascertaining the truth or otherwise of the allegations and instructions. Not following this criterion could lead to evidence being ruled as inadmissible and have a significant impact on the outcome of the case.

Company profile â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Leatherhead Food Research Leatherhead Food Research provides expertise and support to the global food and drinks sector with practical solutions that cover all stages of a productâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life cycle from consumer insight, ingredient innovation and sensory testing to food safety consultancy and global regulatory advice. Leatherhead operates a membership programme which represents a whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s who of the global food and drinks industry. Supporting all members and clients, large or small, Leatherhead provides consultancy and advice, as well as training, market news, published reports and bespoke projects. Alongside member support and project work, our world-renowned experts deliver cutting-edge research in areas that drive long-term commercial benefit for the food and drinks industry.

Dr Peter Wareing, Food Safety & Manufacturing Consultant, Leatherhead Food Research Dr Peter Wareing has served as expert witness in a number of civil and criminal trials. Peterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s specialist areas are food safety systems, including HACCP, microbiology and mycology. In his role as Food Safety & Manufacturing Consultant, Peter undertakes troubleshooting audits and investigations for clients, provides guidance on traceability systems and delivers food safety related training. Peter obtained his BSc in Agricultural Science from the University of Leeds and a PhD in Plant Pathology from the University of Hull.

Email: peter.wareing@leatherheadfood.com

Leatherhead Food Research is a Science Group (AIM:SAG) company. www.leatherheadfood.com

Need an expert fast Call our free searchline on 0161 834 0017 or visit www.expertwitness.co.uk Dr Tinnevely Ananthanarayanan Consultant Psychiatrist

MBBS, FRCPsych., DPM(Lond), DPM(RCSI) Dr Ananthanarayanan is a Consultant Psychiatrist with extensive experience in the NHS, for twenty two years, treating various types of mental illnesses, until early retirement in June 2003.

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His work mainly involved Mental Capacity, Cognitive Assessment, Memory problems etc. due to organic brain conditions, such as Alzheimer's and other dementias, head injury and alcohol related brain damage. Dr Ananthanarayanan was the Lord Chancellors special medical visitor dealing with mental capacity issues from 2003-2014. He was also a Medical Member of the Mental Health Tribunal from 1998 until June 2015,where he performed Mental Capacity Assessments and Mental Health Act assessments during this period.

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Dr Ananthanarayanan has given Independent Psychiatric Reports on Mental Capacity, for the Court of Protection, and other bodies. He also has extensive experience in giving Independent Psychiatric reports on patients appearing before Mental Health Tribunal.

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Extensive experience in clinical and Medico-legal aspects of Mental health.

Special expertise in Mental Capacity, Cognitive Assessment, and memory problems, primarily due to organic brain disorders, such as Alzheimer's and other types of dementia, head injury, and alcohol related brain damage.

He has given opinion on Mental Capacity in non-organic conditions, such as schizophrenia and depression.

The majority of the cases, are civil cases, criminal cases are undertaken where capacity is an issue.

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(1/#00 (//(,&-"*, $/ %1(&1181/#*.2 $/ 4+ 4''*&,% /20*3", "7#8 /"% !/1+ !

EXPERT WITNESS JOURNAL

Address: 15 De Burgh Gardens, Tadworth, Surrey KT20 5LU Area of work: London and Nationwide Mobile: 07921 299 110 Email: tsa@doctors.org.uk

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The Elephant in the Jungle (as it relates to a traumatic brain injury)

by Dr. Michael Bourke, Consultant Psychiatrist, FRCPsych (UK), FRCP (Canada), PCPsychl (Ireland) - Psychiatric and Psychological Consultant Services Ltd (PPCS) thing. His General Practitioner takes an appropriate history and registers the symptoms of anxiety, offering advice and treating appropriately.

Introduction As most in the profession will realise, medicine is often like the elephant in the jungle, where we are like pigmies, viewing a set of symptoms through the eyes of our own specialty.

Four months later the young man appears at the surgery again and on this occasion, he is complaining of being depressed. The notes suggest there may be a connection with his accident and he is referred to his local psychiatric service.

One pigmy describes what he sees as big and round with nails on the end. Another describes what he sees as long and thin with two holes in the end through which air passes. Another describes what he sees as round but long and thin with a tuft of hair in the end and you really shouldn’t stand there too long.

Some months later, the diagnosis of PTSD is given and he is offered a number of sessions of CBT to deal with it.

If the pigmies could stand back and view the entirety of what they each see, they would realise it was an elephant, but that is hard to do in a jungle dark with foliage.

So far so good – his General Practitioner has registered anxiety and depression. The psychiatric service has registered depression and PTSD for which he is receiving psychotherapy and later he is put on an antidepressant. Six months post-accident it is thought prudent to have a neurological opinion, due to his complaint of headaches and difficulty to quantify lapses in memory. His CT scan showed a frontal suprorbital contusion with a repeat being reported as normal and the Neurologist queries post traumatic migraine.

How often does that happen in medicine too? A young man presents to A&E having been thrown through the air by a car. He is an irritated and troubled youth who should not have been on the road in the first place. He is understandably somewhat disoriented, but there is no obvious loss of consciousness. He accepts a lift in the ambulance to A&E, where he is assessed neurologically due to the evidence of a head injury and the decision is taken to keep him in overnight.

Nine months later, the young man is on propranolol, requesting tranquilizers and given to bursts of unpleasant behaviour while complaining of panic attacks. Twelve months later, with little change in his condition, the history of his grandfather’s Huntington’s disease brings the question of whether a similar process might be taking place. He is referred to a Neuropsychiatrist where eventually the diagnosis of Huntington’s is discounted. He is discharged and continues on the antidepressant.

Because he is an irritated and troubled youth, he finds staying in overnight for observation boring and discharges himself, his notes are written up correctly with a summary sent to his GP. Two weeks later, his mother brings him to the GP saying that he is anxious and could he be given someEXPERT WITNESS JOURNAL

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(genetic) component but where environmental exposures are relevant. The paper concludes it is unlikely that head injury causes schizophrenia. It does however carry an addendum, citing the paper “Psychiatric illness following traumatic brain injury in an adult health maintenance organisation population”. Fann, J. R. et al., Arch Gen Psychiat 2004; 61: 53- 61 in which they conclude their findings are consistent with other reports of delayed psychosis after traumatic brain injury.

He is referred back to his local psychiatric service with the query diagnosis of an emerging psychosis, due to his excited, over-active behaviour, disregard for other people’s needs, pressure of speech and insomnia. The diagnosis of bi-polar affective disorder is given and neuroleptic medication is introduced. The young man is non-concordant with medication and he appears to become more floridly psychotic.

Around this time, going into his third year, the question of organic mania (ICD 10 – F30.8) is questioned but depending who is looking, the alternative diagnosis of an emerging schizophrenic illness due to his paranoid delusions is also thought to be a valid alternative. He eventually agrees to be treated with the neuroleptic Olanzapine 15 mgs nocte, which in turn appears to be helpful. The diagnosis of schizophrenia becomes established and his irritating and troubled behaviour pre-accident is put down to prodromal symptoms in the slow development of this disorder.

That brings us to the paper “Is traumatic brain injury a risk factor for schizophrenia?” A meta-analysis of case controlled population-based studies. Molloy, C. et al., Schizophrenia Bulletin. 37 (6): 1104 -1110. In this paper Molloy does raise the question of whether TBI is a risk factor for psychosis and, in particular, schizophrenia. We are now into two possibilities. Is TBI a precipitating factor for the development or expression of schizophrenia or can it bring about a psychosis independent of the genetic disorder of schizophrenia. Molloy found an increased risk of schizophrenia following TBI of about 60%, but that did not mean association was established and that, as discussed in the paper by David and Prince above, it is difficult to tease apart whether the TBI causes the psychosis or whether a particular individual is already on a trajectory toward psychosis before the injury occurred.

Certainly those vulnerable to schizophrenia have a greater contribution from TBI as a precipitating event much the same as, for example, substance abuse.

What actually happened was that the young man suffered a bi-lateral, frontal lobe supraorbital contusion with some temporal lobe involvement on the left.

That brain injury led to impaired concentration, attention and memory, anxiety, headaches, depression and eventually psychosis with delusions of interference (somatic passivity), delusions of reference (being observed by cameras) and the belief that his flat was being entered during the night.

As each symptom group led to what were reasonably appropriate referrals, the diagnosis was questioned according to the discipline of the observer. However, he did not have anxiety and depression, did not have PTSD, traumatic migraine, a neurodegenerative disease or a bi-polar illness.

If we then look in more detail at the paper “Psychiatric illness following brain injury in an adult health maintenance organisation population” Fann, J.R. et al. Arch Gen. Psychiatry 2004: 61: 53 – 61. The paper concludes both moderate to severe and mild TBI are associated with an increased risk of psychiatric illness.

The paper notes that high rates of mood, psychotic and substance abuse disorders following TBI have been found in hospitalised trauma and tertiary care referral populations. For our purposes, the paper supports TBI as precipitating psychosis.

The next question became whether the symptoms satisfied the criteria for the diagnosis of schizophrenia.

Was he arguably showing prodromal symptoms of irritability, troubled behaviour and detachment that had now passed through a natural progression and resulted in a schizophrenic illness or could the head injury precipitate schizophrenia in a case where there was no pre-existing disorder (or prodroma) or can such a head injury produce a psychosis with all the symptoms of delusions or hallucinations that one might find in schizophrenia, but attributable to the head injury alone, so that he had neither the natural progression of a schizophrenic illness independent of the head injury, nor had he developed schizophrenia precipitated out by the head injury.

It is to be remembered that the genetic disorder of schizophrenia is only one form of psychosis and the question now becomes, can TBI cause psychosis in individuals with a non genetic predisposition to schizophrenia? If we move on to the paper “Characteristics of Psychotic Disorder Due to Traumatic Brain Injury.

An Analysis of Case Studies in the Literature” by Fujii, D. et al., J. Neuropsychiatry Clin. Neurosci. 2002 Spring; 14 92): 130 – 40. The authors analysed data from 69 published case studies of psychotic disorder due to traumatic brain injury (PDTBI) in order to describe its common characteristics and assist in its diagnosis and differentiation from schizophrenia. The authors contend that their findings demonstrated

Discussion A good place to start is with “Psychosis following head injury: a critical review”. David, A. S., J. Neurol. Neurosurge Psychiatry 2005; 76: 153 – 160. This paper states what we know about schizophrenia, that it has a multi-factorial aetiology e.g. an important heritable EXPERT WITNESS JOURNAL

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that patients with PDTBI have a psychotic profile that distinguishes itself from schizophrenia. Delusions appear to be more common than hallucinations and the most common delusion is the persecutory etc.

Miss Helen Marie Fernandes MB BS FRCS (Sn) MD

Conclusion It is not so long ago that DSM I (1952) and DSM II (1968) gave very little in the way of diagnosis. Thanks to Robert Spitzer, DSM III (1980) began to separate out and define various categories of psychiatric illness.

It may seem that the above attempt to tease out the relationship between TBI (especially frontal lobe, supra-orbital and temporal-lateral) and psychosis is intuitive. The very same argument occurred with late onset schizophrenia and late onset schizophrenia-like psychoses due to failing sensorium in the elderly. In this brief vignette each specialist was diagnosing the symptoms that he saw before him and that were viewed according to his special interest, however, while standing back and trying to see the entirety is something we all endeavour to do, Henri Bergson’s (1859-1941) famous quote that the eye only sees what the mind is prepared to comprehend, remains as true as ever.

Consultant Neurosurgeon Consultant Neurosurgeon with Addenbrooke’s NHS Trust Cambridge since 2002, with Neurosurgical experience from 1995. I deal with general neurosurgical problems, am lead Paediatric Neurosurgeon and also have a major interest in complex Spinal Problems. I am Visiting Consultant in Neurosurgery at four other nearby Hospitals, was Associate Director of Postgraduate Education for Addenbrooke's Hospital until 2012 and Honorary Visiting senior Research Fellow at the University of Cambridge and University of Edinburgh. I was recently awarded the Greg Wilkins Barrat International Visiting Surgeon award by the American Association of Neurological Surgeons and was recognised in the Times Newspaper as one of the Top 50 UK surgeons in 2011 and Top 100 Children’s Doctors in 2012. I have a research background and have published to my peers.

I have experience in writing reports as an expert witness since 2002, mainly in Personal Injury cases (ratio: claimant 50%, defendant 40%, joint 10%), Paediatric non-accidental injury (prosecution 40%, defendant 40%, joint 20%) and Medical Negligence (claimant 30%, defendant 70%) and have made several court appearances in that capacity.

Contact: Mrs Annie Bannister Tel: 01223 416 393 Fax: 01223 411 223 Email: helen.fernandes@addenbrookes.nhs.uk Department of Neurosurgery, P O Box 166, Addenbrookes Hospital, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 2QQ

Michael P. Bourke - 18/01/2017.

T 020 7935 0640 E info@ppcsltd.co.uk www.ppcsltd.co.uk

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EXPERT WITNESS JOURNAL

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Understanding the Hierarchy of Legislation: Acts, Regulations & Codes of Practice

by Joanne Caffrey, Expert Witness in the use of force & management of challenging behaviour When someone accuses you of “breaching the rules”, what exactly have you breached? Is it the law or is it their training package / assessment sheet?

statutory legislation offence of the ACT, and there was no defence under the Act applicable.

Examples of regulations include: First Aid at Work Regulations

Understanding the difference can prevent a lot of unnecessary expenditure and protocol, diverting you from correctly identifying legal obligations and risk.

The Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations Fire Safety Regulations

As an Expert Witness acting for you, this is a key area I need to identify with you as soon as possible.

For example on page 2 of the First Aid at Work Regulations HSE book L74 it states “This guidance is issued by the Health & Safety Executive. Following the guidance is not compulsory, unless specifically stated, and you are free to take other action”

I am often faced with clients in confusion concerning the law and are completely confused by numerous people giving different opinions. Typically they get told “it’s the rules, you have to do it this way or you will get sued”.

Acts and Regulations may on first encounter appear to be the same thing and equal but they are legally not the same thing and are not equal.

My full paper on this topic aims to generally explain the hierarchy of legislation and guidance and what it means to you in reality from your liability point of view and priority in schemes of implementation, and is a key corner stone to many future papers in our “Making sense of the law “series.

There are no RULES as acts of parliament.

Underneath acts and regulations then sits formal national guidance and often is called Guidance or Codes of Practice.

Detail ACTS are pieces of statutory legislation passed by Parliament. This is law. This is the primary legislation.

Breaching of an ACT creates liability enforceable by the judicial system (courts). However, every ACT of offence also creates in law legal DEFENCES.

Examples of these are: Police & Criminal Evidence Act Code of Practice HSE First Aid at Work Approved Code of Practice Dept of Education Guidance on XXX

So ACTS are primary/statutory legislation and examples include: The Health & Safety at Work Act The Human Rights Act The Road Traffic Act Offences Against the Person Act Police and Criminal Evidence Act

A breach of guidance or codes of practice is not necessarily an offence and would need to be directly linked back to the primary ACT offence.

Underneath these we then have individual organizational policies and procedures based upon the 3 areas listed above. However, what often happens is people making the policy or procedure are not legally trained and misinterpret the hierarchy. Policies and procedures then become prescriptive with comments such as “you must”.

Regulations Are subordinate to ACTS. They are linked to an existing ACT and they aim to aid a person to apply the principles of the primary ACT. These are formal guidelines and breaching them is not 100% enforceable in the courts unless the breach is linked to the EXPERT WITNESS JOURNAL

Assessment criteria are then created based upon the policy and procedure so the assessors are then assessing based upon contaminated criteria, with the 28

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About Joanne Caffrey Joanne is a former police officer with 24 years experience.

She served 6 years as a custody sergeant then specialised in custody training. She wrote and delivered the first national Safer Detention training and received a British Excellence in Policing award which this contributed to. She also wrote and delivered the Professionalising Investigation Programme (PIP) training.

added challenge of informing the assessed people what they are doing / not doing is against the law, when in reality what they are doing / not doing is against a particular point of guidance or policy, not contravening any Acts or Regulations.

The next aspects we need to consider are: Case law / stated cases e.g. criminal cases Case reviews e.g. safeguarding cases Prosecution / charging standards

She has recently been involved in training with the IPCC (Independent Police Complaints Commission) She currently works with over 200 schools delivering training concerning the management of challenging behaviour in schools from pupils. She has worked with BBC Radio 4 File on Four investigations concerning the use of force in schools. She has worked on cases as an Expert for prison suicides, police custody procedures, school physical intervention incidents.

She works as an advisor concerning child protection and safeguarding issues connected to the management of challenging behaviour Joanne has trained as an Expert Witness with Bond Solon Legal Training in conjunction with Cardiff University Law School

The law is not easy to understand which is why we have a judicial system containing the likes of Judges, Barristers, Solicitors, Experts.

When someone accuses you of â&#x20AC;&#x153;breaching the rulesâ&#x20AC;?, what exactly have you breached?

Is it the Statutory law or is it their training package / assessment sheet?

You can download my full white paper on this topic by visiting: www.joannecaffreyexpert.com/white-papers

Website: www.joannecaffreyexpert.co.uk

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Learning from Experience: Honesty and Malingering

by Graham Rogers, Consultant Psychologist Having been a qualified psychologist for some 25 years I have been involved in spotting those who are ‘somewhat less than honest’ for most of that time, initially because I began my career working with adolescents with behavioural problems. As anyone with experience working with such a population could tell you, they are not the most reliable when it comes to disclosing information about themselves or the events with which they have been involved; even when their inappropriate behaviours has been directly witnessed by teachers, social workers, police officers or others. Further, if you work with younger populations, their parents are also known to occasionally ‘adjust’ information; that is, there may be a degree of colour and invention added to the account and as such what is shared with you, as the relevant professional, may not be entirely ‘the whole truth.’

However, even in testing, the notion that children exert optimum effort has been challenged for years, as noted by Faust (1995), Hart (1995), and McCann (1998). Hence, if you work with adolescents you learn the many ways in which information can be misrepresented and the value of checking what has been said to build up a more reliable account of the issues at hand.

ing, experience, and the population, especially in the earlier parts of our careers, determines the tools psychologists use to spot those who may be ‘less reliable.’

For those who work with younger populations, they may prefer the ‘pattern performance method’ (PPM); Slick et al, 1999; Meyers and Volbrecht, 2003, where (1), test results need to develop a clinically meaningful profile of behaviour; (2), the observations of behaviour need to be consistent with this profile; and (3), where descriptions from others come together and coalesce into a reliable whole. Hence, using the PPM, there are multiple areas that need to overlap to make a meaningful clinical picture, one that offers a degree of reliability.

However, at this moment in time, the most popular method used in court for determining reliability are tests designed for such purposes, so-called Performance Validity Tests (PVT’s), which have been available in many forms for years; Rogers and others, 1992; Paulhus, 1999; Vickery et al, 2001; Tombaugh, 1996; Widows and Smith, 2005. These are tests specifically designed to indicate the reliability of the person taking the test and in doing so, these tests act as markers for the reliability of other tests undertaken by the client. Of course, one might argue that one test indicating the reliability of another, often unrelated test, is a substantial assumption; though that is another conversation.

This initial experience comes from working within local government where the use of a sceptical eye is expected though not all professionals work in such a manner. By contrast, those who train and work initially within the NHS are taught to believe what the client tells them, after-all, why lie over their sickness or that of a close family member. Indeed, lies are seen as counter-productive and even symptomatic of an underlying disorder and a refusal to accept the illness itself.

However, as an alternative to the client lying, faking or lacking effort, I argue that we need to consider the behaviour of the psychologist.

Psychologists make mistakes, can be limited by their training, expertise and experiences, and I would argue, they can also be bias. To simply suggest that the psychologist is bound by a code of ethics and conduct or that they are ‘regulated’ in some way thereby preventing such behaviour is naïve and ignores history. More specifically, it ignores Dr Harold Shipman, a GP who appears to have killed more than 200 elderly patients; it ignores Beverley Allitt, a paediatric nurse who killed four babies, attempted to kill 3 others, and caused grievous bodily harm to another 6. It ignores Dr Myles Bradbury, a doctor from Addenbrookes Hospital who admitted abusing

Again, contrasting this training and experience, those who work and have trained in forensic (criminal) psychology know that their population, their clients, have a proven record of ‘rule breaking.’ Such psychologists, in the broadest terms, expect their clients to lie, where any deviation from what is expected may be seen as an attempt at manipulation.

In my view, the population/s with whom we initially work and train, determines how we address the difficulties presented by clients. This combination of trainEXPERT WITNESS JOURNAL

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To the courts and others, this may come as a shock, the idea that results are wrong, not because of the client, but the actions of the psychologist.

18 sick children under his care. These were all professionals who were regulated but that did not help their numerous victims. Then we look at researchers where in 2009 at least 2% admitted faking their own test results for publication and 14% of researchers knew others who had done so. In regard to psychologists, it is widely accepted that the later research of Professor Cyril Burt was open to substantial doubt with many academics having claimed in the past that his work was based on fabrication. I would argue that we need to keep a closer eye on the professionals and what it is they actually do.

However, in my experience one of the most common ways to mislead the court is simply to re-administer a test previously given to the client. That is, you give the same test to the client a short time after it was first used.

It has been recognised for decades (Cronbach, 1990; Kaufman and Lichtenberger, 1999) that repeating the test produces higher scores on the second occasion due to practice and procedural learning (Chelune 2003; Hawkins and Tulsky, p.226, 2003; Lievens et al, 2007; Wechsler p.48, 2008; Weiss et al, p.176, 2010).

Indeed, the latest research indicates that both race and gender may further influence retesting bias (Randall et al, 2016); it has been known for years that retesting is fraught with risk (Brooks et al, p.202 – 204, 2009). However, some psychologists ignore these risks and go on to claim that the re-tested defendant, who scored higher on this second test, was more able than the first test showed, which may not be true and may mislead the court.

All psychologists are open to making errors, after all, we are human and therefore, according to the late Albert Ellis (1996), fallible. These errors may be ‘technical,’ where the professional makes a simple error with the numbers, or fails to understand aspects of the test, its administration, scoring, or interpretation.

Recent research has shown how the results of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, fourth edition (WAIS IV), arguably the most well-used adult intelligence test used in the UK and America, can be wrong, due to the behaviour of the psychologist (Styck and Walsh, 2016; McDermott et al, 2014).

A number of years ago I was involved at a criminal case in Kent where I performed the first IQ test on a defendant and the prosecution’s psychologist performed the second opinion, using the same IQ test. At court, I was provided with the second report and we were asked to consult. However, no sooner had we sat down when the judge called us back and decided that this procedure was not required. I think the term that comes next is ‘oops!’

David Wechsler (1975, 2008 [p 3]), the founding father behind the Wechsler intelligence scales, notes that one needs to place the results of the tests alongside the client’s history and behaviour. However, he is not alone in noting the range and depth of information required to interpret an intelligence test. (1) One always needs to take an appropriate history and family history. (2) You need to understand how the history impacts the test results. (3) Where differences between the scores of tests are large, where possible, one needs to understand what such differences mean.

(4) One has to consider how individual client traits and diagnoses may affect the results; Chelune (2003); Lineweaver and Chelune (2003); Roid and Barram, p.69, 2004; Flanagan and Kaufman, p.122, 2004; Weiss et al, p.103, 2006; Lichtenberger and Kaufman (2009); Brooks et al, p. 443/4, 2009; Sherman and Brooks, p.29, 2012.

What I spotted was that the defendant’s results, using the same test, were significantly poorer on the second occasion than the first; and they were very low on the first. Indeed, the drop in the scores was most-pronounced in areas known to have the greater increases when retested. In my view, this change of score was highly improbable. Neither the other psychologist nor the judge saw this anomaly, and as such, the case was dismissed on the grounds of ‘fitness’; I was not allowed to speak.

Accurately interpreting an IQ test is not as simple as many would have you believe.

In a recent case in which I was involved, a psychologist undertook a WISC IV IQ test with a young person. However, in reviewing their results I noticed that they did not take a history, did not consider the impact of existing diagnoses (autism and ADHD) and did not take into account the large differences between the tests that contribute toward the final IQ score. The psychologist simply said the client had an IQ of 72 and whereas the score itself might have been correct, the interpretation of the score ignored valuable information raising significant doubt about the findings.

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These difficulties also show themselves when using Performance Validity Tests (PVT’s), tests specifically designed to provide an insight into possible faking behaviour, for example, a lack of effort, or a deliberate manipulation of the results. Yet these tests are also open to errors by the psychologist, some ‘accidental,’ while others less so.

I had an experience where in a high profile case the crown’s expert firstly upset the defendant during their interview to such an extent that it made him cry, then used just one test, the Test of Memory Malingering (TOMM). The TOMM assesses the faking of memory and is typically used as part of a series of tests 31

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which considers not only if the person being tested has a neuropsychological impairment, but the probability that such an impairment is genuine. “The TOMM is not intended to be the sole instrument of clinical assessment or a substitute for sound clinical judgement that utilises various sources of information, such as clinical interviews and observation,” p 2, Tombaugh, (1996).

One needs to ask, if you are rude and disrespectful, does it aid compliance and cooperation or might it have a negative impact on the assessment process?

Is the client ‘faking’ or are they withdrawing their cooperation due to being insulted and upset? Does a psychologist know that if they are rude and disrespectful it will alter the behaviour of the defendant?

In this case, one needs to ask, what is the likely outcome of upsetting a defendant prior to testing; are they likely to cooperate, and if not, why? Here the psychologist chose not to use any other test, simply saying, the defendant failed the TOMM, therefore all other tests would be unreliable?

The ethical implication of using PVT’s with those accused of a crime, where society is seeking to remove their liberty, often for many years, is considerable. I would argue that under such circumstances counsel, judges, and others may wish to take more time considering the interactions between professional and defendant. They may wish to consider if the professional has acted ethically or not.

What makes this case so interesting was that the defendant was illiterate and had attended special education. The evidence of low intelligence was overwhelming. Indeed, in giving evidence after the defendant, the judge stopped me when I began to explain the nature of his learning difficulties, and said “I think we can all see what learning disability means”.

Interestingly, I was told some time later that the judge had criticised the behaviour of the second psychologist.

Many judges are trained in what psychologists do, developing a considerable range and depth of knowledge which enables them to more fully consider our behaviour. However, what they, and counsel, are not doing is challenging our basic approach to the assessment of the defendant.

I would argue that what we are seeing here relates to the ethical behaviour of psychologists.

At a recent court case, a psychologist who used two tests of malingering stated that the offender faked their results. Regarding the final test of the day, the second test of malingering, the young man did not try, with behaviour which was open and deliberate; he deliberately ‘gave up’ and chose not to try. However, the psychologist had earlier used a test called the REY 21, which was scored as ‘borderline.’ Yet, in looking through the research I discovered the young man had passed the test, assuming he had a low IQ; I found a low IQ, so did the other psychologists. Again, as with the TOMM above, the cut-off between a ‘true result’ and one that was ‘faked’ had to be adjusted to match the level of intelligence of the person taking the test.

In my experience, unethical behaviour is an increasing problem, especially in high profile cases. A few

Graham Rogers and Associates Limited

However, in this case I asked the defendant how the crown’s psychologist behaved, offering the bias view that we (psychologists) are usually polite and respectful and if they found them to be the same. Being polite and respectful aids the development of ‘rapport’ and increases cooperation from the client. Sadly, the defendant told me that as the day wore on the psychologist became increasingly rude, short, and argumentative.

Consultant Psychologists M.Sc., (Ed Psych) M.Sc., (REBT) B.Sc. (Hons)., PGCE., Dip. REBT., C. Psychol., AFBPsS

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Experience at The Central Criminal Court, and The Principal Registry of the Family Division.

Contact 156 Little Cattins, Harlow, Essex CM19 5RW Mob: 07952 170 627 Email: info@grahamrogers.org.uk suzi.v.brown@gmail.com Web: www.grahamrogers.org.uk

I suspected this because within the report of the psychologist it stated that the defendant had not cooperated with one of the tests and deliberately ‘got it wrong’ as noted above. Yet to me, this apparent change in the behaviour led to me asking why? Why did the defendants’ behaviour change?

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Consultant Psychologist

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provide additional information with which to aid in their consideration of sentencing.

years ago I assessed a defendant in a high profile case, where I saw him over four half-day sessions, considered his medical records, his pre-existing diagnosis, considered the police interview, the court bundle, and due to the complexity of the case consulted widely with professional colleagues including my external consultant based in America. It was an assessment that took several months, at which point I arrived at a conclusion and an opinion about the defendant.

As an expert we are not there to support the views of either side, rather, we are there to support the court as a whole whilst remembering at all times that until the defendant is found or pleads guilty, then there is the assumption of innocence. Innocent until proven otherwise has always been the mainstay of British law, but it appears that some experts, either through pressure from, or loyalty to an employer, take a partisan approach. Of course, one might consider whether such an approach does justice any favours. Research in America consistently finds around 4% of the prison population to be innocent at any one time. If this were also the case here in the UK, that would equate to approximately 3500 people. Perhaps this should be the motivating force not only for psychologists and other expert witnesses, but also for the judiciary to more actively challenge what experts do.

At this point, a second opinion was requested and the psychologist criticised my report. In many respects this is what one would expect as a second opinion enables a critical re-evaluation of all that has gone before; professionally it is a strong position to be in and in my view one of considerable responsibility. The second psychologist can consider different interpretations of the evidence, different approaches to collecting it, the pre-existing medical evidence and medical history and they can re-assess the defendant to compare and contrast the new findings with the original. This would be good professional practice, especially in a complex case such as this.

Graham Rogers Consultant Psychologist Graham has experience within health, education and social services and has been actively involved in the protection of vulnerable adolescents and adults.

He has been involved in court and other legal work for his entire career, first giving live evidence in 1991, and has been an Acting Head of Service.

However, in this case, the second opinion and its criticism were offered without interviewing or re-assessing the defendant and without reviewing the medical evidence. In circumstances such as these, one has to ask, upon what was the psychologist basing their opinions. As the defendant admitted their involvement and was certainly going to prison, one has to ask, what was the motivation behind the psychologist’s behaviour?

Psychological Expert Witness and Treatment Service

In my view, it is not enough for the court to simply look at the defendant when considering the issue of ‘unreliable behaviour;’ it is also necessary to consider the behaviour of the psychologist.

Personal Injury - Clinical Negligence - Employment Tribunal

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BA (Hons.) MSc PhD C.Psychol. AFBPsS UKCP CSci.

Consultant Chartered Clinical & Health Psychologist (BPS) Registered Practitioner Psychologist (HCPC)

As expert witnesses, psychologists are expected to conduct independent assessments and although their opinions may ultimately favour one side more than the other, their behaviour towards the defendant should always be professional, and polite. Defendants are invariably experiencing high levels of stress when they meet psychologists, they often don’t understand why we are seeing them and their fear generates a defensiveness which we as experienced professionals need to reduce in order that they cooperate and represent themselves to the best; this helps the court and the judge in particular. The psychologist has absolutely no role in sentencing or in the guilt or innocence of the defendant, but what they can offer is an insight into the person who for whatever reason has found themselves within the criminal justice system. It is possible that this insight into the defendant, may assist the jury, but in my experience, the insight is primarily there to assist the judge in deciding what to do during the trial process, for example the inclusion of special measures, or in the event of a guilty verdict, to EXPERT WITNESS JOURNAL

Extensive training and experience in the psychological assessment and treatment of adults presenting with psychological injury in the context of accidents, clinical negligence and employment.

Clinical issues and conditions covered include adjustments disorders, PTSD, anxiety, phobias, depression, sexual abuse, body dysmorphic disorders, chronic pain, chronic illness/ disability and work-related well-being.

Experience of giving expert evidence in court and tribunals. Trained as a Single Joint Expert. Quality of my court reports have been commended by judges and lawyers.

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The Interface between Psychology and Law: Continuous Improvement in Claimant, Lawyer and Expert’s Experience.

by Koch HCH, Palmer H & Reay K. (AP-LS) was started followed by a number of journals addressing legal psychology (e.g. Law and Human Behaviour; International Journal of Law and Psychiatry). The relationship between the two disciplines has expanded and deepened over the past 40 years with considerable optimism on both sides.

Introduction The field of ‘psychology and law’ is now recognised as an important area of practical study aiming to understand and enhance justice in criminal, civil and family contexts (1). Psychologists and lawyers use interchangeable terms such as ‘legal psychology’, ‘therapeutic jurisprudence’, ‘psychological jurisprudence’ when debating how psychology impinges on law, in practice, research and/or educational ways. Every area of psychology (e.g. developmental, social, clinical, cognitive) is relevant to some aspect of law (2). This possible application emerged in the early years of the twentieth century with Sigmund Freud’s clinical work, and Musterberg’s experimental /court room work. In 1969, the American Psychology-Law Society EXPERT WITNESS JOURNAL

Both professions, Psychology and Law, aim at ‘uncertainty avoidance’ in their respective searches for truth and justice. Uncertainty is intrinsic to the scientific and legal processes. Over time uncertainty is reduced, and conclusions revised by additional, new or contrary data. Law is important and shapes our lives from ‘womb to tomb’. Many issues confronted by the legal system are inescapably psychological.

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can be achieved, the underlying principle of this paper is that psychological factors that impinge on the several ‘players’ and ‘processes’ in civil litigation need to be understood.

Contemporary 21st Century Therapeutic Jurisprudence Therapeutic Jurisprudence (TJ) developed by law professors, Wexler and Winick, in the US in the 1980’s is based on the practical premise that findings from the behavioural sciences, predominantly psychology, can inform and improve how litigation is carried out. Practical examples have predominantly emerged from the context of criminal justice e.g. problem solving courts, drug treatment courts, eye witness testimony (3). More recently, professionals working in the civil justice system in Europe (4,5) have addressed how psychology and law can constructively interact. The UK/Sweden collaboration (4) has illustrated the relevance of many psychological processes: -

Organisational Culture As in other sectors, both public and private, the legal system is an ideal context to apply the principles of Total Quality Management to (4, 6) such as customer responsiveness, continuous process improvement and staff empowerment. TQM and TJ usefully address vision and core values within a framework of continuous quality improvement, as shown in figure 2 below.

Figure 2 – Total Quality Management in Civil Litigation.

• Individual, idiographic approaches to claimant functioning and behaviour • Systems or organisational approaches to how the civil courts operate • Ways to enhance claimant responsiveness and satisfaction • Process improvement in expert skills and expertother interaction • Total Quality Management in law firms, the courts and medico-legal agencies

There are many internal and external ‘customers’ in civil litigation, these are shown in figure 3 here.

• Dispute/conflict resolution via the innovative Joint Statement process.

Figure 3 – The Key Players in Civil Litigation

A ‘TJ’ Agenda for 2017 Where and how do we go from here? The field of psychology and law within the context of civil justice suggests many areas for professional, inter-disciplinary and research-oriented investigation. Figure I below indicates four areas for scrutiny and approximately sixteen specific lines of enquiry which we are keen to develop during 2017.

Figure I

Claimant Experience a) Claimant Stress It is widely acknowledged that the main customer, the claimant, experiences a relatively high level of stress during the litigation process.

Four main stresses are: • Stress resulting from the litigation process alone (e.g. court procedures, depositions);

In order that the key aims of civil justice (just, fair, appropriate, reasonable, understandable and resolved) EXPERT WITNESS JOURNAL

• Stress secondary to financial difficulties (e.g. loss of income, legal fees); 35

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claimant would have needed/still needs to feel better is frequently warranted. This is where Restorative Justice can have a role by understanding the psychological impact of this injustice.

• Stress from a combination of the initial trauma (e.g. road traffic accident) and litigation process; • Stress due to uncertainty in the claimant’s life (e.g. when will litigation end, return to work).

c) Access to diagnosis and treatment Claimants who experience physical and/or psychological injury or symptoms deserve rapid assessment and diagnosis and, where appropriate, recommendation and provision of the appropriate type of treatment. Claimants need to feel able to access treatment for psychological problems independent of their claim even if this makes the process of their claim more complex.

Three separate groups of people who become distressed during litigation included: • Those who become progressively more agitated and begin to exhibit increasing rates of posttraumatic symptoms following repeated interviews; • Those who have not previously exhibited post-trauma-like symptomology, but begin to do so once they commence serial interviews; • A group of claimants who become irritated by and resentful of the experience of repeated interviews, but who do not develop a trauma-like response to the process.

d) Rapid claim resolution One of the key sources of stress for claimants is the length of time a claim takes to be resolved. All the professionals involved may contribute to this duration, with its associated lack of explanation. An understanding of reason for delay can alleviate this stress. It is reasonable for claimants to be given an expectation of how long their claim could take.

Specific reasons for stress include: • Being asked repeatedly about the event; • A change in the person managing the case (legal); • The prospect of perhaps needing to go to court;

Judges, Barristers and Lawyer Experience a) Understanding psychological factors It is important that all three branches of professional law practice understand basic psychological principles of behaviour change, thinking, memory and neuropsychology, social influences on behaviour and individual differences between people’s personality and actions. In addition, key psychological concepts of reliability, validity and probability are crucial. All of the above impinge on the court room (e.g. eye witness accuracy, evidential reliability), the case conference and the interview.

• Getting information from the case handler; • Feeling that the claim is taking too long; • The time and location of appointments with medical experts; • The financial effects of the accident; • Understanding the entire claims process While we must acknowledge the inevitability that litigants will experience some elements of stress which cannot be ameliorated during the process of litigation, e..g the uncertainty that now exists in their lives and financial loss, some stress-reducing factors can be attended to: • Use of a structured interview that would gather the relevant background information needed by all professionals involved;

b) Understanding evidential reliability Experts in all fields have a professional duty to improve the reliability of the evidence they provide to the courts. (7) Research is currently underway in Portsmouth and Cheltenham to operationalise credibility variables (8) in order that experts can give a logical coherent response to the legal question “is this claimant reliable?”.

• Typed chronology of GP attendance history, so that GP attendance for accident-related problems is known to the expert prior to the assessment;

c) Case law & psychological commentary Legal professionals resolve conflicts and decide ultimately on quantum with recourse to case law and recent precedents. Psychological commentary has much to offer to illustrate and clarify complex issues on causation, attribution, and reliability of evidence, both claimant and expert (9).

• Clearer dissemination of information to claimants about the litigation process; • Full description of the index accident provided in the instruction letter. b) Feelings of injustice Claimants frequently display anger and resentment when conducting their claim. This may be mild and readily understandable, given the stress claimants experience or may become so entrenched that it becomes clinically significant and in need of treatment. A specific assessment of what aspects of the index event were experienced as unjust and what the EXPERT WITNESS JOURNAL

d) Advanced communication skills The litigation process relies heavily on social interaction and communication between various professionals and public. The ability to display advanced face-to-face (and written) communication skills is crucial (10) 36

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e) Understanding scientific uncertainty Recent research (11) into the validity of scientific evidence in criminal cases rings ‘clear bells’ in civil litigation in terms of judges needing better information and training in areas such as chronic pain, traumatic stress, return to work ability and motivation, and the validity of psychometric and other measuring instruments.

Expert Evidence a) Report writing process Experts need a ‘continuous improvement’ approach to periodically enhance the logicality, style and brevity of their reports. Of particular importance, is ensuring that opinions are, whenever possible, evidencebased, and also taking into account ethical consideration. (12) b) Assessing unreliability and untruthfulness Experts deal with written, verbal and medical information when compiling their opinions. Reliability and validity issues exist in each of these three areas and challenge the expert to construct a robust and impartial opinion (13) c) Tolerance of uncertainty The courts require experts to have confidence in their logicality and ability to argue their opinion robustly. However, in all opinions, there is a level of uncertainty and experts show differing levels of tolerance of this uncertainty. Research is currently underway in Cheltenham to investigate what constitutes experts’ tolerance of uncertainty.

the 21st Century provide an opportunity for students and law firms to learn about Therapeutic Jurisprudence, Quality Management, and the ‘medico-legal mind’ and how this applies to continuous professional development.

d) Managing claimant expectations when faced with conflicting data.

The claimant presents his/her ‘story’ or narrative in his/her own way. Despite crucial issues of reliability, it is important for the lawyer and expert to manage the claimants’ expectations e.g. about time, interview perception; access to counselling/therapy. An expert may, as part of their assessment, assign a diagnosis as a way of capturing and communicating the nature and severity of psychological symptoms. Experts need to be aware of the way a claimant may experience the psychological impact of a diagnosis and take steps to aid understanding of this as part of a medicolegal interview.

References 1. Skeem JL, Douplas KS & Lilienfeld SO (Eds) (2009) Psychological science in the court room. New York.

Guilford Press.

2. Costanzo M and Krauss D (2010) Psychology and Law: A cautious alliance in Forensic and Legal Psychology. Worth Publications.

3. Wexler D, Winick B (1996) Law in a therapeutic key.

Durham Press.

4. Diesen C & Koch HCH (2016) Contemporary 21st Century Therapeutic Jurisprudence in Civil Cases: Building bridges between Law and Psychology. Ethics, Medicine & Public Health. 96, 13 – 19.

Continuing Professional Development and Training Law and Psychology training needs to continue to broaden its base to include interdisciplinary contact, in areas such as medical law and ethics, criminology and social-legal studies, and encourage a sensitivity to issues of ethnicity, gender and class. The interface between Law and Psychology is a fundamental area for further development with issues such as fraud and deception detection; dispute resolution; and advanced face-to-face communication skills being seen as central to understanding a lawyer’s world and expert’s and both mindsets (14). The challenges in EXPERT WITNESS JOURNAL

5. Koch HCH, Diesen C, Boyd T, Hampton C (2015) 21st Century Agenda for the Justice System: Therapeutic Jurisprudence and Total Quality Management. Solicitors Journal, January.

6. Koch HCH (1991) Total Quality Management in Healthcare, Longmans, Harlow.

7. Koch HCH, Newns K, Boyd T & Peters J (2016) Assessing Malingering and Deception in Forensic, Judicial & Clinical Contexts: Are Various Communications ‘Congruent’?

Expert Witness Journal September 2016.

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8. Koch HCH, Akehurst L & Easton S (2017) Judging Credibility of a Road Traffic Accident Claimant. Mathews Case Reports Journal (In submission)

Dr Dawn Bailham

9. Koch HCH & Addy K (2016) Material Contribution & the ‘but for’ test. Legal Mind Case & Commentary. PIBULJ. April 2016.

Consultant Clinical Psychologist MSc Forensic Psychology DClinPsych Doctorate in Clinical Psychology BSc (Hons) Psychology

10. Ivey A (1971) Micro counselling: Innovations in training. Springfield. IL. Thomas.

Dr Dawn Bailham is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist with over 14 years experience working in Child and Adolescent mental health inpatient and community settings. In her current position Dr Bailham is Lead Psychologist in a low secure CAMHS inpatient service for adolescents aged 12 – 16 years with emerging personality disorders.

11. Cooper S.L. (2016) Forensic Science Identification Evidence. Journal of Philosophy, Science and Law, 16, April. 1 – 35.

12. Young G. (2016) Psychiatric/Psychological Forensic Report Writing. In. J. Law and Psychiatry. 49, 214-220.

She undertakes forensic mental health assessments with adults, children and adolescents. Parenting assessments and some forensic cases with adults with learning disabilities. Dr Bailham has considerable experience spanning 10 years of assessing parents, adolescents and children within the family courts and preparing reports. She has experience of conducting forensic assessments particularly for domestic violence, sex offending and physical violence.

13. Koch HCH & Elson P (2016) Areas of medico-legal unreliability in personal injury cases. Mathews Journal of Case Reports. 2(1); 1 – 3.

14. Koch HCH (2017) The best of the best. How can universities reflect the 21st Century Legal Sector? In Modern Law editorial, 2017 (In press).

She has attended court as an expert witness on numerous occasions giving evidence in the family courts, and on a number of criminal law and personal injury cases. She completed the University of Cardiff Bond Solon Certificate for expert witnesses working in criminal law in September 2013, as well as additional modules in family law.

Authors Hugh Koch, Chartered Psychologist and Director, Hugh Koch Associates, Cheltenham, U.K and visiting Professor to School of Law, Stockholm University, Sweden.

Tel: 07801 266 010 Email: dawnbailhan@icloud.com Area of work Northamptonshire and Nationwide.

Helen Palmer, Chartered Psychologist, Hugh Koch Associates, Cheltenham & Northampton, U.K. Keiron Reay, Chartered Psychologist, Hugh Koch Associates, Cheltenham & Wolverhampton, U.K.

Dr Linda Monaci Consultant Clinical Neuropsychologist Medico-legal assessments for suspected or known brain injury and/or brain dysfunction in Personal Injury and Medical Negligence claims • Acquired brain injury

• Post-concussion syndrome

• Stroke

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• Mental capacity & fitness to plead assessments Instructions from Claimants, Defendants and as a Single Joint Expert. Appointments within 2 to 4 weeks, and reports produced in a further 2 to 4 weeks. Assessments can be carried out in Italian. Dr Monaci also has a good knowledge of the Swedish language and has experience of working through interpreters.

Dr Monaci has completed the Cardiff University Bond Solon Expert Witness Certificates (Civil and Criminal Law).

Contact: linda@monaciconsultancy.com for an initial enquiry.

Main consulting rooms (nationwide locations): Several locations in the UK are available. Domiciliary visits can be arranged when clinically appropriate Ten Harley Street London W1G 9PF Tel. 020 8942 3148

Borough Chambers Keats House 24-26 St Thomas London SE1 9RS

Aston Clinic 26 Kingston Road Surrey KT3 3LS Tel. 020 8942 3148

Correspondence address: Aston Clinic, 26 Kingston Road, Surrey KT3 3LS Tel. 020 8942 3148

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Should the Cause of Healthcare Accidents and their Subsequent Management be Approached Through a Person-centred Approach or a Systems Approach?

Dr Christopher Dalley, Consultant Haematologist, Southampton General Hospital University Hospitals Southampton NHS Foundation Trust propagation of an accident. Additionally, in attribution theory a person’s beliefs and motives may influence or bias attributional thinking and lead to actor-observer bias, self-serving bias and correspondence bias (Holden, 2009). Nevertheless, attribution theory and person-centered approach to healthcare accidents are not only applicable to the unintentional errors and mistakes of individuals but also to the violations of protocols and procedures by individuals.

Patient centered approach to healthcare accidents When a healthcare error occurs and a patient or worker is harmed, all concerned: investigators, healthcare worker and patient, attempt to make sense of what happened. According to Reason, the personcentered approach to human error problem solving “focuses on the unsafe acts-errors and procedural violations of people at the sharp end” (Reason, 2000).

In healthcare the ‘sharp end’ is typically the direct interface between patient and health care worker.

Attribution theory introduced by Heider in 1958 and developed by others (Jones and Davis, 1965) is concerned with how people try to make sense of events through attributional activities.

Empirically, when healthcare accidents are thought to be the result of a knowledge gap in an individual, education and training are considered appropriate remedial actions. Additionally, healthcare professionals with leadership roles, and those involved in the investigation of healthcare accidents, should be cognizant of the biases inherent in attribution theory and the risk of assigning fault to individuals as they may be falsely labelled. Person-centered approach and attribution theory may underestimate the contribution of non-human factors in an accident.

The recommendation by the External Inquiry into the adverse incident that occurred at the Queen’s Medical Centre, Nottingham, 4th January 2001 that led to the design of new spinal needles that do not allow intravenous syringe connection was an important ergonomic safety enhancement for intrathecal chemotherapy procedures (Toft, 2001). However, person-centered solutions to healthcare accidents may downplay or miss engineering and environmental solutions to healthcare accidents. Furthermore, the culture within the medical profession and societal norms dictate the use of medico-legal and disciplinary actions against individuals who may have violated professional standards and protocols and caused harm to patients.

The link between attribution theory and safety emerged in the 1990’s and in 1994 Dejoy suggested that attributional processes and inferences lie at the centre of workplace safety and that ‘causal inferences in turn, broadly determine the actions that are taken or not taken to correct hazards and prevent injuries.

In a very real sense, actions to manage safety derive more from attributions than from actual causes’ (Dejoy, 1994). Viewed through the lens of attribution theory the person-centered approach to healthcare accidents can be seen as the process of assigning blame to an individual or individuals. However, blame and casual attribution are not necessarily the same; blame implies inappropriate behaviour but workplace behaviour may still lead to an accident even when an agent’s acts are not considered inappropriate or deviant. Despite this subtlety the person approach tends to satisfy a professional and societal need to apportion causality, fault or responsibility for an accident to the individual(s), rather than the organization. This may in part be cultural as individual agency predominates in Western societies. Additionally, physical actions of an individual are often more conspicuous to an observer than latent events which may be more proximal and/or relevant to the EXPERT WITNESS JOURNAL

Systems approach to healthcare accidents The origin of systems approach to healthcare accident investigation lies within high-risk, high reliability industries including aviation and nuclear power 40

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analysis has been adapted and formalised by other researchers. For example, using ‘human-factor’ checklists and structured 20-30 minute interviews, Stanhope et.al., 1997, investigated an obstetric near miss incident resulting in the birth of a pre-term baby

by Caesarian section. They systematically analysed active failures, conditions of work and organizational issues surrounding the case and concluded that the most important factors were operational and attributable to staff shortages, poor communication, supervision and training. They highlighted the advantages of investigating near misses, including deficiencies in the systems involved in care delivery, and once understood, appropriate preventative remedial actions can be instigated to reduce the chances of the serious incident recurring. They also suggest that individuals involved in near miss incidents may be more candid and open than if involved in serious adverse events as recrimination and legal actions are less likely in near miss incidents.

where accidents and errors may lead to a catastrophic loss of life. In these industries, as in healthcare, accidents are due to a combination of active and latent errors (Rasmussen & Pedersen, 1984, Reason 1990).

Active errors, mediated through the actions and behaviours of individuals (slips, lapses mistakes or protocol violations), have immediate effect. Latent errors are distal, in time and space, to the active errors and have a period of dormancy before they become operational. Their genesis lies within the decisions and activities taken by individuals who operate away from the sharp end, and in healthcare may include politicians, commissioners, hospital directors, managers, healthcare personnel and others.

The external enquiry into the adverse incident that occurred at Queen’s Medical Centre, Nottingham, encapsulates the benefits of a systematic approach to healthcare incident investigation and learning when applied to a serious adverse event (Toft, 2001). Although the inquiry report did not disclose the methodology used by Toft, the scope of investigation in to how an intrathecal injection of Vincristine was wrongly given to a patient with acute leukaemia, resulting in death, was far reaching. It exposed active errors on the part of doctors, nurses and a multitude of latent failures including a national trial protocol for leukaemia that permitted the administration of intravenous and intrathecal chemotherapy to a patient on the same day. More than 50 safety recommendations were made by Toft covering operational practices (pharmacy and ward), protocols (local and national), drug collection and administration, staff training, protocol revision and document control, communication, labelling of medication, and national issues such as redesign of spinal needles.

Currently there is no agreed standard approach to the systematic investigation of healthcare accidents.

However, the London Protocol, with its seven levels of safety framework, extends and adapts Reason’s model to healthcare with the advantage that it can be applied to acute medicine, mental health and primary healthcare (Taylor-Adams & Vincent, 2004). Importantly, the protocol uses ‘systems analysis’ and expands accident contributory factors to include: patient factors such as condition (complexity and seriousness), language and communication, personality and social factors; task design; technological factors; the availability of protocols; and the term ‘care delivery problems’ is used in preference to the term ‘unsafe acts’ to reflect that a problem may extend over time. The protocol includes a framework for selecting the investigative team, conducting interviews as well as how to formulate recommendations and developing an action plan from the investigations findings.

The theoretical framework for understanding the aetiology of accidents in complex industries and the effective restorative efforts to prevent accident recurrence, were described by Reason in his Organisational Accident Causation Model (1990, 1995). In his model, accident causation is the culmination of latent failures resulting from fallible decisions at corporate and line-management level, coupled with psychological precursors of unsafe acts like stress and motivation, the unsafe acts of the individual(s), and breaches in safeguards against error. Eagle, Davies & Reason used a systems approach based on Reason’s model to investigate an anaesthetic incident in which a patient died (Eagle, Davies & Reason, 1992). They conducted a multidisciplinary meeting which included anaesthetists, nurses and surgeons and uncovered four active and four latent failures associated with the incident, and rightly noted; “Unfortunately, analysis only of active failures leads to a constrained view of the problem. Focusing on the anaesthetists excludes the influence and interaction of, and latent failures extant in other operating room personnel”. Reason’s EXPERT WITNESS JOURNAL

Learning from adverse health-care events is imperative if patient care is to be improved by reducing the risk of patient harm. However, learning opportunities are reduced if incidents are under reported. Interestingly, the patient as a potential source of incident reporting is often ignored. Recent studies indicate that patient-identified incidents are often not reported to hospital incident reporting databases (Weingart et.al, 2005; Weissman et.al, 2008). In addition, patient surveys suggest that patients report a much higher rate of adverse events compared to published rates from hospital records (King et.al., 2010; Lehman et.al., 2010).

With revisions by Vincent and Amalberti in 2016, the London-ALARME (Association of Litigation and Risk Management-European) protocol sets out a methodology through which the factors that contribute to a 41

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medical incident are systematically investigated, including a greater emphasis on patient’s perspective: • The patient’s perspective of the events contributing to the medical error are actively sought.

Dr Christopher Dalley Consultant Haematologist MD, FRCP, FRCPath

• Analysis of the medical incident includes the whole ‘event journey’ undertaken by the patient rather than just the error incident itself. This broader time frame allows a more complete assessment of the possible contributory factors in a medical incident.

Dr Dalley has a specialist interest in Haemato-oncology as well as: Myelodysplasia, Myeloproliferative disorders, Leukaemias, Myeloma, Anaemias and other cytopenias, Coagulation and Thrombophilia, Diagnostic Haematology. He has published research and clinical papers on leukaemia, myelodysplasia, and other haematological cancers in peer reviewed journals.

• Greater emphasis on learning from the medical incident by conducting detailed assessment of the failures and successes in error detection linked to the medical incident, combining them to produce an overall risk benefit ratio of harm for the patient concerned.

Contact Southampton General Hospital

Vincent and Amalberti also argue that vital learning from adverse events can also be achieved by analysing near miss events, and crucially, understanding how near miss events are detected and recovered from.

(University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust)

Tremona Road, Southampton SO16 6YD Area of work: Southern England & Nationwide Tel: 023 8120 5516 Email: christopher.dalley@uhs.nhs.uk christopher.dalley@btinternet.com

In 2003 the Department of Health through its National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) introduced the National reporting and Learning System (NRLS) database. The NRLS provides a framework for National Health Service (NHS) organisations and their staff to register and investigate serious incidents and learn from them using root cause analysis methodology. Although some academics have criticised this approach (Taylor-Adams & Vincent, 2004) the NRLS provides a near identical systems approach methodology to the London protocol.

gators. In turn, healthcare organisations should encourage patient participation in medical incident investigation, and have guidelines and protocols that facilitate reporting and sharing of the learning from both near miss as well as adverse medical events (Scholefield, 2007 and Mahajan, 2010).

Summary Systems human-factor based methodologies for investigating and learning from healthcare incidents offer a comprehensive evaluation of active and latent failures that underlie medical incidents and errors.

By extension, a systems approach to understanding healthcare incidents is more likely to produce effective actions to address latent and active failures than person-centered methodologies.

References 1. Dejoy, D.M. (1994). Managing safety in the workplace: An attribution theory analysis and model. Journal of Safety Research;25(1):3-17.

2. Eagle,C.J., Davies, J.M., Reason, J. (1992). Accident analysis of large-scale technological disaters applied to an anaesthetic complication.

Canadian Journal of Anaethesia;39(2):118-122.

3. Mid Staffordshire, N. H. S. (2015). Foundation Trust: Public inquiry-chaired by Robert Francis QC. Final Report. 2013.

Recent research in the field of patient safety has placed more emphasis on a patient-centered approach to medical incident investigation. This has been adopted in the London-ALARME protocol.

However, healthcare incident investigation using systematic methodologies has the potential to be complicated, time consuming, and may not always lead improvements in patient safety if investigation is poorly conducted or if subsequent safety recommendations are inadequate or poorly implemented.

These pitfalls can be mitigated if healthcare organisations incorporate systematic incident investigation methodology and analysis in their quality and safety programmes and include appropriate training and support to healthcare staff who are incident investiEXPERT WITNESS JOURNAL

4. Heider, F. (1958). The psychology of interpersonal relations. New York: Wiley 5. Holden, R. J. (2009). People or systems? To blame is human. The fix is to engineer. Professional Safety, 54(12), 34– 41.

6. Jones, E.E., Davis, K.E (1965). From acts to dispositions: The attribution process in person perception. In Leonard Berkowitz (ed.), Advances in Experimental Social Psychology. Volume 2. New York: Academic.

7. King, A., Daniels, J., Lim, J., Cochrane, D. D., Taylor, A., & Ansermino, J. M. (2010). Time to listen: a review of methods to solicit patient reports of adverse events. Quality and Safety in Health Care, 19(2), 148-157.

8. Lehmann, M., Monte, K., Barach, P., & Kindler, C. H.

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(2010). Postoperative patient complaints: a prospective interview study of 12,276 patients. Journal of Clinical Anesthesia, 22(1), 13-21.

15. Toft, B. (2001). External Inquiry into the adverse incident that occurred at Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham, 4th January 2001. London: Department of Health.

9. Mahajan, R.P. (2010). Critical incident reporting and learning. British Journal of Anaesthesia, 105(1):69-75

16. Scholefield, H. (2007). Embedding quality improvement and patient safety at Liverpool Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s NHS Foundation Trust. Best Practice & Clinical Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 21(4):593-607

10. Reason, J. (1990). Human Error. Cambridge university press.

17. Vincent, C., & Amalberti, R. (2016). The Consequences for Incident Analysis. In Safer Healthcare (pp. 47-58).

Springer International Publishing.

11. Reason, J. (1995). Understanding adverse events: human factors. Quality in Health Care;4:80-89 12. Reason, J. (2000). Human error: models and management. British Medical Journal;320:768-770.

18. Weingart, S. N., Pagovich, O., Sands, D. Z., Li, J. M., Aronson, M. D., Davis, R. B., & Phillips, R. S. (2005). What can hospitalized patients tell us about adverse events? Learning from patient-reported incidents. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 20(9), 830-836.

13. Stanhope, N., Vincent, C., Taylor-Adams, S.E. (1997). Applying human factors methods to clinical risk management.

British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology;104:12251232.

19. Weissman, J. S., Schneider, E. C., Weingart, S. N., Epstein, A. M., David-Kasdan, J., Feibelmann, S., & Gatsonis, C. (2008). Comparing patient-reported hospital adverse events with medical record review: do patients know something that hospitals do not? Annals of Internal Medicine,149(2), 100

14. Taylor-Adams, S., Vincent, C., & Street, P. (2004). Systems analysis of clinical incidents: the London protocol. Clinical Risk, 10(6), 211-220.

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Prisons and Courts Bill to Improve Access to Justice and Better Protect the Vulnerable Plans to revolutionise the courts to make them more straightforward and efficient, and deliver swifter justice for victims, will be outlined by the Justice Minister Sir Oliver Heald QC today.

ple travelling without a train and tram ticket, and a further 1,300 cases of people fishing without a licence – could be handled online, taking away the need to be in a courtroom.

The Prisons and Courts Bill, which also contains a range of measures to help boost the reform of our prisons, will be debated by MPs in the House of Commons this week (week commencing 20 March 2017).

Bill measures will also mean around 420,000 summary and triable either way offences can be progressed without the need for administrative hearings to take place in a court. For example, offenders will be able to enter a plea online reducing the need to go to court until they need to attend trial or a hearing where they can be sentenced.

The ground-breaking Bill will mean that more cases can be progressed securely online and through video and telephone conferencing, eradicating the need for many administrative hearings to take place in the traditional courtroom setting and reducing the need for travel.

Discussions between the court and legal representatives about issues such as trial location will be able to take place via email or telephone or video conferencing, instead of being in a courtroom. The government is also removing the requirement for indictable only offences to have a ‘first appearance’ in the magistrates’ court, instead sending those cases straight to the crown court.

To ensure justice is also open and seen to be done, video booths will be installed in courts across England and Wales to allow members of the media and public to observe virtual hearings from court buildings anywhere in the country. Lists and results of cases that have taken place online, as well as those concluded in a physical courtroom, will also be available digitally.

The Prisons and Courts Bill underpins our investment of over £1 billion for a modern justice system.

The government is investing over £850 million to modernise and digitise the courts, and preserve the full majesty of the physical courtroom for cases that require it, in addition to around £250 million to deliver a fully connected criminal courtroom. This will result in savings of £252 million a year for the taxpayer.

Justice Minister Sir Oliver Heald QC said: Britain has the best justice system in the world, but it should also be the most modern. Victims and the most vulnerable are at the centre of our changes, which will help deliver swifter and more certain justice for all.

We want courts that are efficient and fit-forpurpose, with facilities across the entire estate that are modern, user-friendly, and work in favour of our hard-working and dedicated judges and magistrates.

We will move from too many underused and badly maintained buildings to fewer, better buildings with modern facilities. More modern and robust technology will be put in place in courts, such as Wi-Fi, modern telephony and screens for sharing evidence, to make the lives of our excellent judiciary and legal professional users easier.

The Prisons and Courts Bill underpins this vision – building on the good progress we have already made in improving the experience of all users and cementing our reputation for global legal excellence so victims get the justice they deserve as quickly as possible.

The Prisons and Courts Bill also provides courts with the power to put an end to domestic violence victims being cross-examined by their alleged attackers in the family courts, calling time on what the Justice Secretary has described as a “humiliating and appalling” practice.

The Prisons and Courts Bill proposes an extension to the use of video links and virtual hearings which allow victims to take part in cases without having to meet their alleged attacker face-to-face. Under our virtual hearings measures a further 60,000 pre-trial hearings in the magistrates’ court and 17,000 contested bail hearings can also take place by video, along with 30,000 pre-trial hearings in the crown court. This will save around 34,000 hours of courtroom time. Proposals to introduce online convictions for some limited offences will also benefit the courts. Potentially around 8,000 offences – including 7,000 cases of peoEXPERT WITNESS JOURNAL

Car insurance premiums will also be cut by around £40 a year, with new fixed tariffs capping whiplash compensation pay-outs and a ban on claims without medical evidence, helping to crack down on the compensation culture epidemic.

In addition, the legislation sets in law for the first time that a key purpose is to reform offenders as they are punished for the crimes they have committed.

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North West Focus

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Focus on the North West The North West vibrant legal market continues to thrive under the buzz of the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Northern Powerhouseâ&#x20AC;?, with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, Berwin Leighton Paisner LLP and Latham & Watkins all establishing offices to act as legal services hubs in Manchester. The city has benefited from the increase in activity in the local property market which continues to grow. The Manchester Legal Awards highlight the amount of talent in the region, which continues to grow.

In Liverpool, law companies continue to act on a range of high-profile corporate projects, property and public sector matters and are benefiting from investment, particularly in the property sector. With many firms opening offices in Cheshire and North Wales.

Elsewhere in the region, Chester is a hub for high-net-worth clientele, while firms in the Bolton and Preston area act for a range of SMEs, public-sector entities and owner-managed businesses. Recruitment throughout the region also remains highly competitive.

There are many experts based in the North West who provide a full range of services to Solictors and the legal profession. If you require any expert in the region please call our free searchline on 0161 834 0017 and we will supply the right expert to you.

Mr Peter D Gooder ENT Consultant

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Over the past 40 years Mr Gooder has acquired an extensive experience of the diagnosis and treatment of a broad spectrum of ENT disease.

Mr Gooder has been instructed by Solicitors over the past 26 years in connection with medico legal reports. He has prepared approximately 150 Medical Reports, about 60% for Claimants, and about 40% for Defendants, in the last year. With a significant number being alleged medical negligence cases.

Mr Gooder also undertakes instructions in clinical negligence, the number of these cases has gradually increased over the past two years, and the ratio of Claimant to Defendant is about 80%-20%.

Dr Adedokun has extensive clinical experience in the management of various Chronic Pain Syndromes including persistent Neck, Back, Neuropathic or Complex Regional Pain Syndrome especially following Personal and Occupational Injuries.

He also has wide experience in Medical Negligence claims.

Listed on the UK register of Expert Witnesses, an APIL expert, Member of Society of Expert Witnesses, Expert Witness Institute and is a Sweet & Maxwell accredited Expert Witness 2015.

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Why you Should Consider Cleaning as a Factor in Personal Liability Claims Futureclean Assured Systems is a well – established consultancy focussing on cleaning: its systems, cleaning change management and improvement and designing new systems for old, new designs for safer products and implementation of newer and much more effective systems.

Futureclean Assured Systems has a very popular training site the Cleaning Masterclass where we teach new cleaners to use our systems. We know more than most about cleaning systems and techniques; having a background in chemistry, over 20 years of practical industrial and commercial cleaning experience, and teaching experience helps us make the informed decisions on all aspects of cleaning and safer systems of work.

front-line, providing not just prevention of spread of contamination in acute hazardous waste handling, but also the routine control of ‘day-to-day’ contamination on surfaces frequently handled by people.

Cleaning plays a vital part in both the remediation and prevention of safety incidences from occurring, cleaners are often the ‘first responders’ to deal with these incidences.

A cleaning system should contain: a list of cleaning equipment and products required, including all necessary usage and dilution instructions, method statements and schedule for all the cleaning tasks employed, sufficiently detailed cleaning standards required to achieve, general and specific risk and COSHH assessments and a record of training provided and dates for training reassessments.

What is needed in a cleaning system?

A complete cleaning system is a combination of many different parts that must work together seamlessly to meet the three most fundamental requirements of cleaning: Aesthetics, Hygiene and Safety. Most people consider the function of cleaning to be purely one of aesthetics – to remove the daily soiling and to provide a visually appealing place to work, visit or rest. There’s more to cleaning that. When it comes to acute and routine infection control, cleaning is at the EXPERT WITNESS JOURNAL

However, there are parts of the complete cleaning system, like training, that are often not considered to be important, but without all the parts working 47

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together, the ability of the cleaning to provide the three fundamental requirements will deteriorate rapidly. The end result has the potential to cause serious injuries to cleaning and non-cleaning staff, visitors and to the public.

here, is the adequacy of cleaning and the products being used which can also affect the ship systems. The food industry has the same issues and is partially addressed by HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) system but does not address the essential cleaning, often specialist, needed to make HACCP work.

Take these examples Aesthetics From an aesthetics point of view, cleaning companies are contracted to provide cleaning services to a client, according to a cleaning schedule and a set of cleaning standards. But, more often than not, these cleaning standards are either non-existent or simply inadequate, so how can reasonable cleaning standards be enforced in a contractual dispute?

Indoor air quality may be related to necessary but neglected AC and ventilation systems, including mould contamination within the vent system. This is only ever a cleaning and maintenance issue but has wider implications in “sick building syndrome”, commonly found in many newer builds.

Safety From a safety point of view, there are two major groups at risk: the cleaner and everyone in the immediate vicinity. Within both of those groups the cleaning system plays a vital part in both remediating a safety situation and preventing a safety incident.

The cleaner and everyone in the vicinity bares the consequences of a poor cleaning system or a cleaning system poor implemented.

One large office-based company contracted a facilities management company to provide routine over-night cleaning services. Over many months the head of facilities at the company received a number of complaints from staff regarding the falling standards, these complaints were passed on to the facilities management company. However, the written standards to achieve in the contract were so vague that the facilities management company argued that they were not in breach, and so an impasse resulted. We were called in to independently audit the premises and report, given the nature of the contract, whether a reasonable level of cleaning standards were achieved.

A poor cleaning system provides insufficient detail or forethought to the nature of the risks posed by cleaning products and equipment, including the possibility of unintended consequences when certain cleaning methods are specified. For example, one school decided to replace scrubber-driers with mops and buckets, because cleaning staff were complaining of backache. The staff were inadequately trained in manual and safe working practices. The management thought that replacing the machines with mops and buckets would solve the problem, but they didn’t take into account and were ill-prepared for the additional musculo-skeletal damage caused by incorrectly sized mops for the cleaning tasks. Big mops and buckets were purchased with the intention of maintaining the same time spent cleaning, but those mops and buckets were too heavy to use safely (buckets have wheels but still need to be lifted).

Hygiene From a hygiene point of view, an inadequate cleaning system, either through poor implementation of the cleaning system or a poor cleaning system implemented correctly, is the main cause of the spread of deep-seated infections inherent in hospitals, clinics, cruise lines and anywhere where there are many people sited in small or enclosed areas. Where there is a requirement to maintain a high cleaning standards, because of the high risk environment, the detail and breath of the cleaning system (and cleaning standards) must be sufficiently raised to match the environment. This includes the additional requirements around disinfection procedures and disinfectants, particularly when you consider that there is no visual method with which we can tell if those procedures have been carried out adequately.

More often than not, the safe use and handling of cleaning chemicals (part of COSHH) is poorly implemented for cleaners. Management may have on record all the safety information relating to those chemicals, namely the Safety Data Sheets, for all the cleaning products in use, but the information contained in those sheets is often not passed down competently to the cleaners – the end user. Cleaners must have access to this information, in some form, as well as knowledge in interpreting that information, so that they can safety use the products. It is management’s responsibility to parse all available safety and safetyrelated information and deliver that information to the all relevant parties. This is often delivered through training or ‘Tool Box’ talks. However, there is a pervasive complacency with both management and cleaners to the seriousness of the risks involved.

The soiling itself may pose a risk to the cleaner, it may be classed as hazardous waste, like bodily fluids, mould (and algae), animal wastes, or physical hazard like broken glass, or a chemical hazard like cleaning up spills. In all these cases, there must be provision in the cleaning system to allow the safe removal, handling and disposal of the soiling, but the cleaning system must be enforced in its use.

Futureclean Assured Systems has a long (over 11 years) and on-going experience in consultancy work in marine environments and naval ship husbandry and we know well that at the root of all problems EXPERT WITNESS JOURNAL

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Both parties often ignore or regard the risks as not essential with potential problems, even regarding the use of protective gloves as optional.

With all products, certain conditions of use will apply which must be followed to ensure safe use. For example, Chlorine-based disinfectant products in tablet or powder form (a common disinfectant product used in clinical and high-risk settings) must be used carefully, use at elevated water temperatures, and the product can produce very irritating and often dangerous fumes. If these products come in contact with acids, whether in use or in storage, dangerous fumes will be created. All this safety information and more is contained within the safety data sheets, product labels and technical data sheets, and is assessed as part the COSHH assessment and ultimately forms part of the cleaning system – if not then the cleaning system has failed and safety compromised. If it is adequately covered in the cleaning system, then the implementation is at fault.

Futureclean Assured Systems are a complete cleaning system is a combination of many different parts that must work together seamlessly. Some of these parts, like training, are often not considered to be important, but without all the parts working together the cleaning standards deteriorate.

Futureclean Assured Systems can advise and assist on all aspects of cleaning and facilities management, below is a list of services we offer: Advisory Services including: Auditing, Gap Analysis, Risk and Safety Management, Specifications & Manuals, Design & Development and Specialist & Unique Cleaning Systems Support Services including: Facilities Management, Marine & Environmental Consultancy, Food hygiene and Safety, Infection Control, Hospitality, Industrial & Construction Cleaning and Technical & Process Cleaning Training Services including: Online, On-site, Practical , Auditing existing training, Custom Course Development and Training the Trainer.

Research & Development including: Cleaning Practices, Cleaning Products, Protocols & Standardised Testing, Cleaning Systems and Hazards & Risks in Cleaning.

Our in-house cleaning experts have proven track records, with decades of practical and managerial experience at the highest level, in delivering many various answers to cleaning problems in many different industries.

No matter how complex or how intractable the problems are, Futureclean Assured Systems will assure you complete confidence in our ability to support you every step of the way, and beyond with our commitment to on-going support.

Two common examples are in the use of standard personal protective equipment, in these cases a simple matter of wearing gloves to protect the hands from day-to-day cleaning. In the first example, a cleaner would often refuse to wear gloves stating that she was using ‘safe’ cleaning products and had never had any problems before. What materialised over the months was a slow but progressive damage to the skin through the removal of natural oils and greases from the skin, resulting in dermatitis. The damage progressed to the point of being a chronic problem and the cleaner had to be taken off the job. While the reluctance of the cleaner to use gloves contributed to the damage, the management failed repeatedly to enforce the requirement to wear gloves and knew full well that the cleaner was not wearing gloves.

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Luxury establishments like hotels and yachts have major problems with this issue and it can cost them tens of thousands in replacement costs.

Many common surface materials also suffer damage from inadvisedly used cleaning products and equipment. Often unknown, a product may react with the material being cleaned – acids react with limestone, chlorine (and this includes hydrochloric acid) react with the surface material of stainless steel rendering the steel useless and rusty. Add to the fact that many cleaners think that bleach and metal scouring pads are cleaning and you will see that several areas of highly expensive commercial kitchens can be and are easily damaged.

The second example, is the other way around: the management had no COSHH assessment, no safety information in record, not even any control of what cleaning products were brought on site. Cleaners were asked to bring in their own products and often from bought from the local supermarket. The cleaners were not trained in the safe use of chemicals and no checks were made as to ensure the safe use. It came to a head when one cleaner was cleaning a toilet and the resulting reaction between two different cleaning products caused acute skin burns and breathing problems. Clearly, in this case the management were responsible and had no regard for the seriousness of the risks, even regarding supermarket cleaning products as safe.

A cleaning system poorly implemented Good quality training is at the heart of implementing a well thought out cleaning system. Professional cleaners should be properly trained in all aspects of cleaning, not just cleaning techniques of which there are many, but in the knowledge that cleaning has such a wide impact in the lives of staff, visitors, the public and to themselves. But a one-off training session is no guarantee to smooth and safe operation of a cleaning system, there should be provision for regular reassessments of both the training and the cleaning system.

In addition to the three fundamental requirements of cleaning, there is the potential surface material damage due to either a poor cleaning system, choosing the wrong cleaning products, equipment and method, or poor implementation of the cleaning system, typically caused by inadequate cleaning training.

EXPERT WITNESS JOURNAL

As a case in point to illustrate a cleaning system poorly implement: the cleaning in a very high foot traffic corridor had to be carried out using a specific piece of mopping equipment that ensured the floor completely dried within a minute. This specific equipment had to be used in such a way that only a minimal 49

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amount of cleaning solution was absorbed in the mop head. However, one early morning a cleaner trained to use this equipment deliberately bypassed the safety mechanism on the equipment to speed the clean up.

This resulted in more cleaning solution being applied to the floor, which took longer to dry. Unfortunately, a member of staff ignoring the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Wet Floorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; signs slipped up resulting in serious brain damage. If the cleaner had followed the training and operated the equipment correctly, the slip would not have resulted.

Dr Susan O'Rourke

Consultant Clinical Psychologist C.Clin, Psychol, AFBPsS, BSc, MSc, Doctorate Clin Psychol.

Assessment of Mental Capacity - Medico-legal experience in the assessment & treatment of male & female deaf and hearing mentally disordered offenders. I have experience of Mental Health Review Tribunals â&#x20AC;&#x201C; assessment of psychological need & risk in relation to individuals detained under the MHA (1983).

Personal Injury Claims â&#x20AC;&#x201C; e.g. deafness as a result of negligence, negligence in the case of an individual who happens to be Deaf. Personal injury reports also prepared for hearing individuals.

There are so many incidences of where cleaning has had a direct and indirect impact in personal injury, and often in circumstances that are not always immediately obvious. Failures in cleaning can result in more than just slips on wet floors, as we have demonstrated here. Slips and trips are the obvious ones but in case preparation it often pays to look back to see where something like the cleaning is at fault. As you may have seen, there is much more to cleaning and we could spend hours on so many background cases where the cleaning is handled by, not only untrained cleaners but also by untrained management. This costs in terms of lost wages and fines, lost time and manpower, serious health issues (acute and chronic long term problems) and considerable costs in replacing damaged surface materials.

Criminal cases â&#x20AC;&#x201C; assessments of deaf and hearing individuals in criminal proceedings in relation to: Fitness to plead â&#x20AC;&#x201C; assessment of intellectual ability & the impact of Deafness.

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Family/Childcare proceedings â&#x20AC;&#x201C; assessments of deaf and hearing adults in relation to childcare proceedings; presence/absence of a learning disability & the impact of this and/or deafness on parenting, assisting the court in the understanding of how these issues may be relevant to assessment & service provision.

Unit 4, Downs Court Business Centre, 29 The Downs, Altrincham WA14 2QD Area of work Nationwide Contact: Sue McAteer-Brown Tel: 07903 505 631 Email: suemcateerbrown@gmail.com Website: www.deafexpert.co.uk

What to do next: Contact Futureclean Assured Systems for an in-depth, no obligation, discussion in strictest confidence.

We also offer bespoke training courses for solicitors and legal assistants in all aspects of cleaning as a component part of case preparation.

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50

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Police are Reviewing Nearly 500 Prosecutions After Fears Samples Could Have Been Manipulated and "entrusted by the majority of UK police forces".

Randox labs are used by more than half of UK police forces.

Hundreds of 'drug-drivers' may have been wrongly prosecuted after alleged blood sample manipulation.

The samples were taken at Randox Testing Services (RTS), Manchester office, where sources believe there are as many as 484 suspected cases of manipulation. Police have launched a probe to find out if lab workers at the health company doctored the results of tests on blood, urine and hair.

RTS stated that the issue came to light following an internal investigation at their Manchester site.

Blaming what they call "the perverse actions of individual(s)", the statement said: "The internal investigation centres on the manipulation of quality control data, which supports test results. "There is no evidence that either the samples or the quality control materials themselves were subject to interference." Randox alerted authorities after an internal probe last month found evidence to suggest â&#x20AC;&#x153;toxicology data was compromisedâ&#x20AC;?.

RTS has provided forensic services to police forces, including Greater Manchester Police, for the past two years. Two male employees aged 47 and 31, who had worked for RTS for three years, have been arrested on suspicion of perverting the course of justice.

Some 484 cases handled by the lab will now be reviewed in an effort to determine whether compromised data played a part in prosecution. RTS describes itself as being "an elite service provider on the UK Home Office's National Forensic Framework"

The Home Office said: â&#x20AC;&#x153;The matter is being urgently investigated by the Forensic Science Regulator and UK Accreditation Service.â&#x20AC;?

Need an expert in the North West or anywhere?

Call 0161 834 0017 or email:admin@expertwitness.co.uk

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Dr Ilan Lieberman

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Able to advise and report on personal injury, musculo-skeletal pain, neuropathic pain, complex regional pain syndromes (RSD), fibromyalgia, osteoarthritic pain, myofascial pain syndromes & post surgical pain and chronic pain conditions I have acted as an expert witness for both litigant and defendant solicitors with subject matter expertise in chronic pain related issues, since 2002. As part of this work I am available for pro bono telephone advice prior to instruction by a solicitor.

I accept work both in the personal injury and medical negligence fields.

For all enquiries please contact my secretary Helen Westall on: 0161 883 2728 Email: helen@ilanlieberman.co.uk Web: www.chronicpaincare.co.uk

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EXPERT WITNESS JOURNAL

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Manchester Legal Awards Leading lawyers from across Manchester were celebrated at the eighth annual Manchester Legal Awards hosted at The Midland Hotel.The event organised by Manchester Law Society, saw more than 650 of the region’s legal professionals gather to acknowledge their achievements Pro Bono/Community Initiative of the Year: Highly Commended: Browne Jacobson Nichola Evans on behalf of Browne Jacobson commented: “We work with students from MMU on a mentoring scheme which has been recognised for the value and reward it offers to students keen to pursue a successful legal career. This is the first pilot scheme so it is very exiting to have won.”

Trainee/Paralegal of the Year: Jonathan Wall of Burton Copeland LLP Jonathan commented: “I’m obviously delighted to have won this award. It has been a busy year and I’ve worked very hard. I’d like to dedicate this to my wife and children who had to put with me over the last year, to get this far is a wonderful achievement.”

Vladimir Teodosiev of Winscribe said. “It is a pleasure and a privilege to be here at the Manchester Legal Awards and I would like to congratulate Jonathan on his award, along with all of the other winners this evening. As a company we want to empower people with technology and this is also empowerment.

Pro Bono/Community Initiative of the Year: University of Manchester School of Law Advice Centre Neil Allen, Senior Lecturer at the School of Law commented: I am very privileged and proud to receive this award on behalf of the University. I’d like to dedicate this award to Diana Crystal as she was ahead of her time It’s a real privilege to work with the students and the support of our volunteer lawyers to be recognised in such a prestigious awards is truly amazing. We are also proud of the Dementia clinic we have set up to enable families to access free legal advice.”

Solicitor of the Year: Jennifer Maloney of Slater and Gordon Lawyers Jennifer commented: “It’s an absolute honour to win this award. This is the most prestigious awards ceremony for legal professionals in Manchester so it’s a fantastic recognition from fellow professionals and peers. Through my work I’ve been able to change the law and not many lawyers can say that at such an early stage in their career. I’m honoured to fly the flag for legal profession in Manchester.”

Rebecca Yates of BPP commented: “It is a privilege to be part of the Manchester Legal Awards and the legal community in Manchester and I am particularly proud to present the Pro Bono Award for the Dementia clinic which provides much needed legal advice and support.”

Michael Niven of Search said: The Manchester Legal Awards is one of the most important and prestigious events in the legal market and Search are proud to be associated with the event. Congratulations to Jennifer on her well deserved award.”

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Law Firm Innovation: JMW Solicitors LLP Mark Yaffe of JMW commented “It’s great to win this award for our project. We realised a few months ago that we should connect our two client base - athletes and sports stars with entrepreneurs. Athletes have a huge media profile and entrepreneurs need brand awareness to get their products out there, so by connecting the two we are able to help them out. This award means a huge amount because we are a law firm with a clear vision in mind to help businesses to grow. I’m glad JMW has supported us and made this reality and this is just the start for us, we already have 60 companies and 150 sports stars across 26 different sports that are talking to each other.”

Gary Cook of Booth Ainsworth commented: “It really is a pleasure to sponsor the Crime Team Award and you don’t win four times for nothing. These are hard times for criminal lawyers, yet they continue to stick at it and the award for Olliers is well deserved.”

Emma Seagreaves of MMU said: “We have sponsored the Innovation Award for the past three years, as we feel that we are also innovative in relation to education and our apprenticeships schemes.JMW are deserved winners and would like to congratulate the team.”

“Catherine Boyle of Bygott Biggs commented: “We are thrilled to sponsor this award and to be able to see the hard work and effort of Slater and Gordon.

This really is a wonderful evening and a great venue.

Employment Team of the Year: Slater and Gordon Lawyers LLP Sarah Evans on behalf of Slater and Gordon commented: “Wow we are just so pleased and delighted for the team who work long hours and work hard everyday which makes a real difference to our clients. This is a team award and I look forward to celebrating with the team. To have been shortlisted and to win is a huge deal for us and we’re delighted.

Litigation Team of the Year: Hill Dickinson Geraldine Ryan on behalf of Hill Dickinson commented: “We have entered this Award several times before and been unsuccessful, but we have continued to work hard to become a serious litigation contender in Manchester. Last year we moved up to Legal 500 Tier 1 and that was a big deal for us, but winning this Award has been the icing on the cake. To get this in our city and to be recognised amongst the top tier is a huge deal for us. Hill Dickinson marks 20 years in Manchester and this is a fantastic achievement and we are delighted.’

Corporate Commercial Team of the Year: Highly Commended: DWF LLP Frank Shepherd on behalf of DWF LLP commented: “This is recognition for the team who’s hard work has led us to become top tier in what we do in Manchester. We are different from everyone else because we are focused on the cities where we work. The differentiator for us is the international side of the business.”

Corporate Commercial Team of the Year: Eversheds Sutherland Alistair Cree on behalf of Eversheds Sutherland commented: “We won this award last year so I wasn’t expecting this. This year’s award recognises our big push to project manage deals from around the world right here from Manchester. There is a tremendous amount of talent here in Manchester and this shows when we are managing deals taking place across the world right here from the city.”

Robert Parry of RSM UK said: “I am delighted for Geraldine and the team at Hill Dickinson. The Award is well derved. Once again we are happy to be sponsors at the Manchester Legal Awards and to be involved in the celebration of excellence in the city.”

Family Team of the Year: Irwin Mitchell LLP Ros Bever on behalf of Irwin Mitchell commented: “I’m absolutely delighted to accept this Award. It’s fabulous that we can show that we can bring groundbreaking cases to the North West. I think we have demonstrated that we can do that, we have more high profile cases on the way and illustrates that Manchester has the solicitors, experts and counsel that can compete against the Magic Circle firms in London and that’s massively important.”

Ruth Shearn of RMS PR Commented “Manchester Rocks! There really is a huge amount of talent in the city and we are proud to be associated with the Manchester Legal Awards and I would like to congratulate Alistair and the team from Eversheds Sutherland and all of the other winners this evening.”

Steve Bailie of Lextox commented: “We work nationwide on a whole range of family cases and so we are very proud to sponsor the Family Award here tonight. My congratulations to Ros and the team at Irwin Mitchell.”

Crime Team of the Year: Olliers Solicitors Matthew Claughton on behalf of Olliers commented: “Of course I am very, very pleased. This is the fourth time in eight years we have won this and it reflects our status in the marketplace and our commitment to our team. In what are challenging times for criminal practitioners, it’s great to be highlighted in these awards.”

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PI/Clinical Negligence Team of the Year: Hilary Meredith Solicitors Ltd Clare Stevens on behalf of Hilary Meredith commented: “It’s been a landmark year for the firm 53

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We have really worked to develop this service. This is an area that is constantly changing and we really have to be on the ball so that we can offer the best service to our clients.”

which has been involved in three parliamentary enquires. We are very much involved in improving the welfare and safety of service men and women and this is a great recognition of the work we do with military and service personnel.”

Ste Pritchard of Matrix 247 commented: One of the largest issues facing law firms is the threat of cyber breaches and we are getting involved in cyber security events to advise law firms on how to manage risk.

My congratulations to Michelle and the team at Weightmans.”

Mike Knight of Arag commented “Manchester has a vibrant legal community and we support many firms in this area. Manchester will be key within the Northern Powerhouse and we are proud to be associated with the Manchester Legal Awards. Congratulations to Clare.”

Barrister of the Year: Kate Blackwell Q.C. of Lincoln House Chambers Kate Blackwell QC commented: “This is fabulous, I am very pleased for Chambers but especially for women in our sector. I was delighted to see that the shortlist were all women and this really is a step in the right direction. More women are coming to the Bar now which is very good news. I think women can give so much to the profession, they have a sense of empathy that really shines through particularly in sensitive cases. This is a first for Lincoln House Chambers and I am so delighted.”

Private Client Team of the Year: Highly Commended: Kuits Solicitors Graham Wood on behalf of Kuits commented: “ This is the first time we have entered the Awards, so I am very pleased. It’s a good recognition for our team and what they have done over the last few years. It’s also a fantastic recognition of the work we do which is putting Manchester on the map.”

Private Client Team of the Year: Hugh Jones Solicitors Elizabeth Hughes on behalf of Hugh Jones commented: “I am delighted with this. This is fantastic recognition of the work we do in Court of Protection for clients with limited capacity. It is such a niche practice area and we are delighted to be recognised for this work.’”

Anthony Rollason of Landmark commented “A massive congratulations to Kate and Lincoln House Chambers. The Manchester Legal Awards is a great celebration of the legal talent in Manchester and Landmark are happy to be associated with it.”

Tracy Blencowe of Eclipse commented” “We are great advocates and supporters of firms in the North West and I would like to congratulate Elizabeth and the team from Hugh Jones. Eclipse systems are highly adaptable and can be tailored to the needs of the individual firm, however niche it may be. A great event and a great evening.”

Barristers’ Chambers of the Year: Deans Court Chambers Craig Sephton QC , Head of Chambers commented: “We are delighted and grateful to the Manchester Law Society for this award. It’s a splendid occasion and a tribute to our selection procedures. Over the years we have consistently produced great barristers and completely managed our loyal staff and clerks to get the best results. They make me proud to lead the chambers.”

Property Team of the Year: DAC Beachcroft LLP Nick Molloy on behalf of DAC Beachcroft commented: “We are ecstatic to win. Historically the firm hasn’t been considered a ‘property’ one but we have invested a lot of time and energy into creating a property team since we merged. We have developed a successful team and this is recognition of that team and the work we have done, which has included working for local authorities in Cumbria on the development of nuclear power stations. This award is the ‘crown’ on this progress.

Jon Hainey, President of Manchester Law Society commented: “This was a particularly competitive category which made the judging process all the more difficult. I think this illustrates the quality of barristers and cases they are involved in. My congratulations to Deans Court Chambers.

Partner of the Year: Tom Bridgford, Eversheds Sutherland Tom Bridgford of Eversheds Sutherland commented: “I am very pleased. We’ve had a lot of growth recently - 15 per cent for the past 3 years. We have recruited a brilliant team and we are supported by great management who have been incredibly supportive and helped us build an incredibly great team that is consistently attracting international clients.”

Simon Hewitt of First Title commented: “The Manchester Legal Awards is a great event and one that is a celebration of the Manchester legal community. We are very proud to be associated with such a prestigious event and offer our congratulations to everyone involved.”

Regulatory Team of the Year: Weightmans LLP Michelle Garlick on behalf of Weightmans commented: “We are delighted and really surprised.

Three years ago we were disappointed when we didn’t get this but we came back fighting and it’s paid off.

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Joanne MeLeod of the Law Society commented: “Congratulations to Tom for his fantastic acheivement winning this award. The competition in this category 54

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was particularly strong as is the overall quality of entries for the whole evening.”

Martin Jackson of MFL Professional commented: “We are always delighted to be involved in the Manchester Legal Awards, it is one of the highlights in the profession’s social calendar. Congratulations to Karen and the team at Roberts Jackson.”

Small Law Firm of the Year: Hall Brown Family Law James Brown of Hall Brown commented: “I am thrilled. I have just celebrated my 40th birthday and this is the best present I could have asked for. We only set up 10 months ago so we are obviously delighted.

I think that Manchester Law Society has always encouraged entrepreneurship and it’s great that the ‘newbie’ has won. This gives a really positive message to other new firms who may be considering entering the awards in 2018.”

Large Law Firm of the Year: Shoosmiths Vaqas Farooq commented: “This is brilliant for the office and comes at such an important time for us as we move to the XYZ building. It’s the pinnacle of our journey in Manchester. We have been in the city for seven years and this is a climax for a long journey so it’s amazing. It’s also good recognition of what the office has achieved in the last three years of our growth. We are a valued led business and that has allowed us to grow organically very quickly.”

Stuart Cartwright of Lawshare commented: “Lawshare are delighted to sponsor the Manchester Legal Awards, and the Small Law Firm Award in particular, as we work with many small firms in the North West. I am happy to present this award to James, which is highly deserved and James and I have been colleagues.”

Edward Smethurst of Palladium Associates commented: “I am delighted to present this award to Shoosmiths. The Manchester Legal Awards is a great event and we are happy to be sponsors of the Large Law Firm award.”

Medium Law Firm of the Year: Roberts Jackson Solicitors Karen Jackson on behalf of Roberts Jackson commented: “I am very shocked to win this Award. I am also humbled as there were some strong businesses in this category. For the past twelve months our focus has been about driving change and digital enablement. The firm now has a clear vision and strategy and we are leading and driving change in the work that our team does. This award is not about me but it’s about the disease victims we represent.”

For all enquiries regarding sponorship and details of further events, please contact: Mrs Fran Eccles-Bech - Chief Executive Manchester Law Society,, 64 Bridge Street, Manchester, M3 3BN. DX 14378 Manchester 1 General Office: 0161 831 7337 Direct Line: 0161 241 7470 Mobile: 07977 748450 Web Site: www.manchesterlawsociety.org.uk www.manchesterlegalawards.co.uk

Jack Ross Chartered Accountants have a long standing involvement within the legal profession and understand its terminology, complexities and pressures.

Our approach to all of our clients, irrespective of size, is to deliver a tailored service on a personal level by ascertaining our client’s individual needs and striving to meet their expectations.

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Manchester Legal Awards Outstanding Achievement Award: Joy Kingsley, JMW Solicitors LLP Joy Kingsley was this year’s recipient of the lifetime achievement award. She speaks to Shelina Begum.

of Manchester Junior Chamber of Commerce and a governor of Manchester Grammar School.

The senior partner at the Manchester city centre firm has enjoyed nearly 40 years in the legal sector and shows no signs of slowing down.

On receiving the award, Kingsley said: “This was a big surprise and a huge honour as this award is very highly regarded in Manchester’s legal market. There have been some inspirational winners of this award in the past, many I regard as mentors, so to receive this is a great honour.”

Kingsley’s career started at Pannone as an articled clerk in 1978 where she became a salaried partner in 1983 and managing partner in 1995.

Asked about her view in the legal profession today, Kingsley said: “It’s a profession that doesn’t stand still, you’ve always got to be moving onwards and upwards.”

Her career at Pannone was hugely successful, with multimillion pound increases in turnover, but, in 2010, she decided the time was right for a change.

In a move that surprised the industry, Kingsley joined JMW and with her went her experience and exceptional contacts, practically rubber-stamping the accumulation of new work for the firm.

She continues: “There will always be a requirement for legal services, so we need to make sure we always have a client base that can support you and vice versa.

To do this, we are constantly adding new products and growing our services. “

At JMW she has been instrumental in the firm’s growth. In May last year, the firm announced that income was up from £19.4m to £22.5m. Overall revenues have increased 118% in the last five years.

Headcount at the firm has also increased substantially with staff numbers rising from 275 to 330 in the last year.

And if something does go wrong, you’ve got enough going right that it will counteract it.”

Technology and innovation also play a huge part in the firm’s development, but Kingsley will be the first to say that people always come first.

The founding partners of LHS Solicitors, Ian Lewis and Graham Small, joined the fast-growing city centre firm JMW last September, while Ward Hadaway’s head of the family department, Michael Chapman, was also poached a few weeks later.

“Our people drive innovation,” says Kingsley. “We like to do a lot of diferent things that might be connected to technology or not. We certainly do a lot of work on our website and obtain a lot of work from it, but equally other projects such as Barn Door, for which we won in the innovation category, is a great example of how the firm is innovative. We are also currently investing heavily in a new project that will help people reach us even more as we’re always looking at ways we can do business and engage with our clients.”

Kingsley has an impressive record of professional recognition, including recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2008 Sunday Times Best Companies to Work For Awards, one of the Women of the Year 2010 and one of the Ten Most Innovative Lawyers in the UK by the FinancialTimes in 2007.

Asked about career highlights, Kingsley says there’s been many. “There have been lots, that’s how it has to be when you’ve had a long career and I’ve been working in law in Manchester since 1978,” she says.

“There’s been some great moments in both Pannone and JMW.

At JMW, her particular range of expertise is management and business development. A non-executive director and shareholder of I-COM 9I-COM International, a company providing web and search engine services, Kingsley, says she ‘loves to work’ and is a keen supporter of emerging talent. She is senator

“Currently I’m really pleased with how JMW is doing.

Everything has been going better than planned, we have brought in some really good people who have performed really well’

The firm has also been successful in attracting a number of Manchester’s top talent including Michael Kennedy, commercial litigation (Slater and Gordon), Paul Breen, serious Injury (Cassell Moore) and Cara Nuttall, family (Slater and Gordon).

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What Level of Training and Experience is Needed to do Dispute Resolution Work?

by Martin Burns RICS, Head of ADR Research and Development Many parties involved in disputes use arbitration, mediation, adjudication and other procedures as alternatives to the judicial system. They do so because they consider these procedures to be faster, cheaper, private or less formal than litigation, or a combination of these reasons.

surveyors, architects, engineers. They have knowledge and experience in their specialist areas of professional practice. Being an expert in contract interpretation, property management, building design or another specialism does not, however, mean that someone is automatically skilled as a dispute resolver. Someone who wants to be an arbitrator needs to learn about the law and practice of arbitration. An adjudicator is required to know the contractual and regulatory requirements of adjudication. A mediator must be skilled in a range of techniques and methods that this specialist role entails.

Ideally, an independent dispute resolver should be appointed by agreement following discussions between the parties. In reality, parties are often unable to agree on the identity of the person to be appointed, and will obtain an appointment through an institution such as RICS. Whether appointed by agreement or through a dispute appointments service provider, parties will require their dispute resolver to have certain skills, knowledge and experience. It follows that the success of dispute resolution depends on the people who are appointed to undertake the role of dispute resolver being properly trained and skilled.

A significant part of my work at RICS over the past 27 years has been concerned with developing and delivering training programmes for chartered surveyors, and other professionals, in a wide variety of dispute resolution procedures. Over the years I have seen the standard and sophistication of training improve immensely. I have also seen increased rigour being attached to assessments and interviews, which bodies like RICS apply when recruiting dispute resolvers to their panels. Assessments are typically set

People who regularly work as dispute resolvers are often drawn from professions such as lawyers,

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up to be realistic tests of someoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s practical ability to discharge the role of dispute resolver in real-life.

The current challenge for RICS and other appointing bodies is to provide experienced dispute resolvers with up to date training and development that tests them. Training for experienced practitioners needs to help them deal with thought-provoking problems which inevitably arise when acting as arbitrator, mediator, etc. Much of the training that is currently on offer by training organisations appears to be designed merely to impart knowledge, e.g. on law and procedure. A lot of training being offered is clearly not innovative enough for qualified and experienced practitioners. It rarely focuses on practical competencies, which dispute resolvers need to help them deal with issues they encounter in real-life disputes.

Dispute resolution law and practice are constantly evolving. Once trained, dispute resolvers should be subject to routine performance monitoring and regular reassessments to ensure they continually do the job skilfully and act professionally.

The constantly developing nature of dispute resolution means that any dispute resolver who fails to keep on top of changes to legislation, case law and emerging trends in the practical application of their role, will sooner, rather than later, struggle to discharge the role effectively. They will make errors which will reflect badly on them, and their professional bodies. Complaints may be made to the body which appointed them about their ability to do the job. Worse-case scenario, they might even find themselves removed from a panel. Even if no complaints are made, a dispute resolver who fails to attend on-going training may fall foul of the criteria for membership of a professional bodyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s panel.

At RICS, we are seeing increasing demands for training that is more forward-thinking and focussed on practical skills. Dispute resolvers on RICS panels of arbitrators, mediators, etc, appear to want more than mere revision on subjects such as the law of evidence. What if, instead of regurgitating the main points in the Civil Evidence Act 1995, or reminding dispute resolvers about the meaning of burden and standard of proof, training workshops taught them what they should do with evidence once they have it in their hands? Even the most experienced dispute resolvers benefit from practical competency based training that concentrates on how to deal with potentially difficult problems.

Aspiring dispute resolvers can obtain training and credible qualifications from a range of organisations.

Formal qualifications signal that someone understands the law, practice and procedures required of the role, and can apply themselves practically.

In the 1990s RICS required arbitrators on its commercial and construction panels to undertake training and assessment that covered 4 days in total. Today, RICS arbitrators who aspire to be on the Dispute Resolution Service (DRS) panel are required to successfully complete a distance learned diploma in arbitration that takes 18 months to complete.

Construction adjudicators follow a similar training programme. RICS mediators need to complete a sixday programme of training and assessment that complies with Civil Mediation Council criteria.

Organisations like RICS are responsible for ensuring the dispute resolvers they appoint are independent and qualified to deal with the matter in hand. RICS requires panel members to complete 20 hours CPD relevant to their dispute resolution work, over and above the 20-hour requirement chartered surveyors are normally required to do under RICS rules. This amounts to 40 hours CPD per year.

I am constantly amazed by the numbers of people who want to be dispute resolvers. It is, no doubt, an intellectually challenging and fulfilling area of work for professionals, which takes them out of the comfort zone of their normal jobs.

From the perspective of parties, the most important feature they look for in their dispute resolver is impartiality. In some dispute resolution methodologies, such as in arbitration, there is a statutory requirement for the dispute resolver to be unbiased.

In mediation, it is expected that a mediator will help parties find a settlement without favouritism towards one side or the other. In recent years, cases such as Eurocom v Siemens and Cofely v Bingham have brought into sharp focus how proactive dispute resolvers must be in demonstrating their independence and objectivity. More than ever, they must consider current and past involvements with parties and professional representatives, and know when it is not appropriate to accept an appointment. It follows that training and assessment programmes must include meaningful schooling in the legal tests for bias, and dispute resolvers need to know what they should do in terms of investigating and disclosing potential conflicts of interest.

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What amazes me is that dispute resolvers are happy to submit to substantial scrutiny from multiple participants. Both parties to a dispute, their professional representatives and sometimes lawyers and the courts expect dispute resolvers to perform to exceptionally high standards, all the time. Even the most experienced dispute resolvers cannot be complacent and should endeavour to keep ahead through regular ongoing training. Appointment service providers, like RICS, have a duty to ensure dispute resolvers on their panels maintain their formal qualifications and remain proficient. It follows that service providers should endeavour to ensure dispute resolvers have ongoing access to practical, competency based training of the highest level. â&#x2013;

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Progress your career The RICS Diploma in Arbitration This nationally recognised course will provide you with the skills and practical knowledge to seek work in the capacity of an arbitrator or act in representing parties at arbitrations across the property, built environment and related sectors.

What will you learn?

• An introduction to the process of arbitration • The application of English law, the law of tort, the law of contract and the law of evidence to arbitration • The arbitration agreement and appointment • Interlocutory applications and arbitration process • Requirements for preparation of a valid arbitration award • How to write a valid arbitration award.

This course entitles you to fellowship of CIArb upon completion of all related assignments and a peer interview.

For more information contact EXPERT WITNESS JOURNAL 60 t 024 7686 8584 e drstraining@rics.org w rics.org/arbitration

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RICS unveils plans to get tough on conflicts of interest RICS Rules of Conduct set an overarching obligation on both members and RICS regulated firms at all times to: ‘…act with integrity and avoid conflicts of interest and avoid any actions or situations that are inconsistent with its professional obligations.’

tory rules in this area. This section also contains the definitions used in the professional statement.

2, Commentary: ’General commentary notes’ set out principles as to how RICS expects regulated firms and members to apply the professional statement.

Effective identification and management of conflicts of interest is a challenging but essential component of professionalism.

3, Commentary: ‘Supplementary commentary notes’ give guidance on how members and regulated firms can meet the obligations set out in Part 1.

This professional statement, which supports the RICS Rules of Conduct, also places an overarching mandatory requirement on all RICS members and regulated firms and specifies RICS’ expectations of how compliance with the Rules of Conduct should be achieved.

Parts 2 and 3 contain guidance, and should be read in conjunction with the mandatory requirements in Part 1.

To download a full copy please visit www.rics.org/uk/knowledge/professionalguidance/professional-statements/conflicts-of-interest-global-1st-edition/

This document is in three parts: 1, The RICS professional statement on Conflicts of Interest and Confidentiality sets out RICS’ manda-

Need an expert call our free searchline on 0161 834 0017 or visit www.expertwitness.co.uk

Electrical Investigations

Dr Antony Anderson CEng FIEE Electrical Consultant and Expert Witness Investigates and reports on causes of electrical system & machine failures including alleged automobile cruise control/electronic throttle control malfunction (uncommanded sudden acceleration) Capability Statement on electrical failure investigations Offers ideas and solutions the improve design/manufacturing processes

www.antony-anderson.com 26 Westfield Drive, Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE3 4XY Tel +44 (0) 191 285 4577 Email: antony.anderson@onyxnet.co.uk

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Acoustics Noise & Vibration Experts Specialist Reports & Testimony Contact us: 020 3479 7867 or 01962 872130 Alan Saunders BSc (Hons) CSci.CPhys.FIOA asaunders@clarkesaunders.com

Ed Clarke BEng (Hons) MIOA eclarke@clarkesaunders.com

Matt Sugden BEng (Hons) MIOA msugden@clarkesaunders.com

Dan Saunders BA (Hons) MIOA dsaunders@clarkesaunders.com

Ian MacArthur BEng (Hons) MIOA imacarthur@clarkesaunders.com

Mike McLoughlin MSc (Distinction) BSc (Hons) mmcloughlin@clarkesaunders.com

CSA are members of the Association of Noise Consultants of which two of our experts are former Chairmen.

Our firm is not part of a multi-disciplinary environmental or engineering consultancy â&#x20AC;&#x201C; we are specialist acousticians with a range of super-specialisations within the fields of acoustics, noise and vibration.

Environmental noise: Community noise; Sports noise; music, planning inquiries; skateboard & clay pigeon shooting noise; underwater acoustics; motorsport.

Transportation noise: Prediction & expert evidence on aircraft noise; Railway noise and vibration; Road traffic noise.

Architectural & building acoustics: building services noise; airborne & impact sound insulation; forensic building acoustic investigations; room acoustics; performance venues; speech intelligibility.

Workplace & industrial noise: Occupational hearing damage assessments & evidence; control of plant noise & vibration. Vibration damage to structures.

Criminal Prosecutions: Forensic acoustic reports in relation to audibility and intelligibility of speech or other sounds.

Offices nationwide at: Westgate House, 39-41 Romsey Road, 103 Gaunt Street Winchester, SO22 5BE London SE1 6DP Tel: +44 (0) 1962 872130 Tel: +44 (0) 20 34797867 Email: mail@clarkesaunders.com E-mail: london@clarkesaunders.com

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Sowton Business Centre, Capital Court, Bitterne Road, Sowton, Exeter EX2 7FW Tel: +44 (0) 1392 342978 E-mail: exeter@clarkesaunders.com

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New rules for business rates launched as profession braces for rise in appeals A new mandatory code of practice for chartered surveyors who support clients through the business rates appeals process aims to bring clarity for the sector following the upheaval created by recent business rates revaluations.

Enhanced guidelines bring clarity following revaluation Recent business rates revaluations set to fuel rise in consumer complaints and demand for appeals.

ploying a ratings surveyor to appeal their recent valuation. We have worked closely with RICS to ensure that it’s tailored to protect small business owners and promote best practice.

We have joined forces with Institute of Revenues, Rating and Valuation and Rating Surveyors’ Association to develop new code.

At its core is a declaration to be signed by both client and consultant before a contract is agreed. This will equip small firms with the awareness they need before signing on the dotted line. That includes the understanding that an appeal can send business rates up as well as down and recognition of the fees that apply during the appeals process.

The code seeks to improve customer protection and support professionals by clarifying appeals processes following rates revaluation.

Mandatory standards apply across UK; however, the guidance recognises practice differences within Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.

This code for RICS rating consultants is the most rigorous created to date. Designed with small firms in mind, we urge our members to have a copy close at hand when considering a rates appeal.

The code, developed by RICS in collaboration with leading bodies in the profession, will ensure RICSaccredited professionals are better placed to support clients who wish to appeal business rates decisions following the revaluations in Scotland, England and Wales.

Mike Cherry, FSB National Chairman

Mr Stephen B Mehmet Chartered Surveyor, Fire & Access Consultant

Setting stringent standards for consultants’ communications with clients, the code protects consumers by ensuring contractual conditions, particularly in relation to fees and contract terminations, are clear and easy to understand. By updating the Declaration by Ratepayers, clients are fully aware that providing incorrect information to the Valuation Office Agency may result in civil penalties.

BSc MRICS FCABE C. Build E. NRAC Post Grad Conservation of Building

Stephen is the Managing and founding Director of Sharp & Bentley. Who provide a full range of architectural and building surveying services. In addition to providing specialist advice on access for people with disabilities and fire risk management, for over 30 years.

Stephen has experience in site inspection, access consultant, project manager, designer, etc. His fire consultant experience enhanced his extensive and detailed knowledge of building contracts, construction management and design. He also has expertise in “work place assessments” for means of escape purposes of registered blind, hearing impaired, wheelchair users, amputees and those with cognizant impairments.

A thorough and logical approach to design, investigation, analyzing problems and proposals is one of Stephen strengths, which enables his to provide sound advice based on facts, this is underpinned by not just being “Fire Consultant” but by being a “Construction Professional” backed by over 35 years of practical experience.

With business rates high on the agenda for many occupiers, and anecdotal evidence showing we can expect a rise in the number of complaints following the recent revaluation, it’s essential that RICS sets the standard for the provision of rating advice in the forthcoming 2017 list. This new code embraces best practice and, in so doing, reinforces the public service credentials of RICS.

Within the past three years Stephen has been appointed as an Expert and was responsible for identifying the defects and commenting on Contractual obligations.

He was further appointed to ensure the correct use of materials and placement of fire stopping forming compartmentation in new and occupied apartments on schemes totaling more than 400 homes, he was also responsible for inspecting the reinstatement works of over 200 apartments within one complex.

Stephen has read and understands Part 35 of the Civil Procedures Rules and is fully aware of his obligations. He has read and understood the accompanying practice directions, Practice Direction Pre-Action Conduct, Protocol for the Instruction of Experts to give Evidence in Civil Claims and he complies with those requirements.

Mark Higgin, Head of Rating at Montagu Evans LLP and Chair of the Rating and Local Taxation Panel at RICS

Available in Greater London and Nationwide Tel: 01277 203 460 Mobile: 07966505676 Email: smehmet@sharpandbentley.com Website: www.sharpandbentley.co.uk Address: Sharp & Bentley Swan House, 9 Queens Road Brentwood, Essex CM14 4HE

This new code of practice provides vital protection for the many small firms who are thinking about emEXPERT WITNESS JOURNAL

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Alternate Address: Penrith Road Romford, Essex RM3 9NS

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New Rules for Business Rates launched as Profession Braces for Rise in Appeals

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A new mandatory code of practice for chartered surveyors who support clients through the business rates appeals process aims to bring clarity for the sector following the upheaval created by recent business rates revaluations.

About the new code The code, developed by RICS in collaboration with leading bodies in the profession, will ensure RICS-accredited professionals are better placed to support clients who wish to appeal business rates decisions following the revaluations in Scotland, England and Wales.

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Setting stringent standards for consultantsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; communications with clients, the code protects consumers by ensuring contractual conditions, particularly in relation to fees and contract terminations, are clear and easy to understand. By updating the Declaration by Ratepayers, clients are fully aware that providing incorrect information to the Valuation Office Agency may result in civil penalties.

Forensic Structural Engineer - Chartered Building Surveyor Expertise in;

Failure Of Duty Of Care Structural Engineers Design Failures Collapse Investigations Construction and Material Defects Timber Defects

Contact Details Landline: 01494 727 217 Web: www.abillingham.co.uk

Failure Of Duty Of Care for Building Surveyors Survey Reports Contract Administration Design Failures Schedule of Dilapidations The above are just a few of the related topics that encompass my expert reports.

Mobile: 07961 398 049 E-mail: andrew@abillingham.co.uk

5 Cheyne Close, Amersham, Buckinghamshire HP6 5LT

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Choosing the Right Digital Forensics Provider In our experience we have found many legal professionals are unsure how digital forensics can assist when it comes to cases; “Is it applicable?” “How do I get it?”

“What do I ask for?”

When examining digital devices, any data found or even the absence of any data sought has a very significant impact on the case and ultimately can determine whether a case is won or lost. Digital Forensic Providers (such as IntaForensics) will conduct a thorough review of potential sources of evidence to support or rebut your client’s, and/or the prosecution’s, evidence in line with the circumstances of the case and the specific instructions received. The potential sources of evidence are: • Communication (IM/SMS/Email) • Deleted Files (Documents, Images, Videos) • Operating System data • Application based • Web based • GPS/Cell-Site Data/Call Data • Internet/Browsing History EXPERT WITNESS JOURNAL

Conducting a thorough review on each of these sources provides the reassurance that should there be any evidence... it will be found.

However, we are aware that it’s difficult for a legal professional when a digital forensics expert is required. Once those quotations are sent off to the LAA, the decision is practically taken out of your hands. But how do you choose the right experts to put forward?

Everyone has their favourite firms who they have dealt with in the past or have approached on the recommendation of a colleague, friend or fellow legal practitioner. However, just in case your preferred firm does not get awarded the opportunity to work with you on your case, it’s always important that you supply the quotations from firms who you know can get the job done, and get it done right.

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Here are some friendly pointers on things to consider when choosing a digital forensics provider.

experts in the laboratory who are equipped and experienced enough to assist with your case?

Staff The Digital Forensics industry is incredibly niche and it’s not uncommon for everybody to know everybody.

However, some analysts are more experienced than others, be this through expertise, knowledge, qualification, time in the industry and even their personal background. It’s important if you don’t know the company, you discuss with the provider what expert may be best equipped to deal with your case, how it will be handled and delivered, and a free consultation with the expert prior to instruction.

IntaForensics spread experts out evenly at all our laboratories, each forensic laboratory has at least: • A Forensic Services Manager (FSM) • 2+ Senior Forensic Analysts • 2+ Forensic Analysts Being flexible is essential to ensuring your case is completed on time and to a good standard. Make sure your supplier has the capability to achieve both.

Consider ISO 17025:2005 Accreditation Choose an ISO 17025:2005 accredited provider. As a busy professional working in the fast paced legal environment it’s understandable for you to think that ISO 17025 accreditation has no impact on your operations.

Some important things to consider: • Qualifications – BSc, MSc, PhD? • Experience – Have they had experience of working in a digital forensics unit before, or a commercial lab? Have they been a consultant?

How might that experience benefit your case?

The need for laboratory accreditation affects practicing solicitors, barristers and legal professionals - defence, civil, corporate and/or otherwise. As long as there is a requirement for the acquisition and analysis of not only digital evidence, but also traditional forensic evidence within their cases, then they will be affected.

• Ad-hoc courses and expertise – Are they trained in courtroom practice by Bond Solon? Or trained in EnCase and EnCE accredited?

We believe a wealth of expertise from various industries and backgrounds is vital to providing the best service for our clients. This allows our staff to acquire a variety of perspectives, knowledge and ideas on how to streamline and make our service even more efficient. We can then grasp what sort of questions may be raised by the CPS in court proceedings and pre-empt these in our reports.

What is ISO 17025:2005 Accreditation?

ISO 17025 accreditation provides formal recognition of the development of a management system; utilised to control operations in a customer focused manner, it ensures the technical competence of all staff involved in the testing and/or calibration activities, and demonstrates the laboratory’s capability to generate technically valid results.

Location Whilst all legal professionals are busy and don’t have time to travel for hours on end, IntaForensics believe it’s beneficial to: • Visit one of our premises and have a tour around the laboratory.

So how will 17025 affect you as a Legal Professional?

The Forensic Science Regulator (FSR) states that ISO 17025 accreditation needs to be achieved by ALL digital forensic laboratories in the United Kingdom

by October 2017 in line with the FSR Codes of Practice and Conduct.

• Have a discussion with our experts.

• Look at the forensic tools and software we use, and how we utilise them.

Organisations such as IntaForensics are fully prepared and ready to achieve these strict deadlines, however due to a combination of factors and implications such: as lack of investment, resource, poor best practice and timescales, it is highly likely a number of other UK digital forensic laboratories will not achieve ISO 17025 by October 2017.

It is important to choose a supplier that has the capabilities to serve you, wherever you may be. This might be through multiple advanced laboratories throughout the UK or by having the best qualified and security vetted delivery and collection services on hand.

This poses a problem to legal professionals. In particular, if the CPS barrister is “industrially aware” about digital forensics they would be able to easily identify whether the expert witness in any given case was or was not ISO 17025 accredited at the time of publishing the report. If after October 2017, you instructed a supplier that was not accredited and presented their findings and report in court, the supplier’s lack of accreditation could present a risk to

Timescales All cases have deadlines or timescales attached to them; some are tighter and more pressing than others. Whether a Plea Case Management Hearing, or even a trial, you need a provider who can meet these deadlines with ease and have the expert capability should unexpected circumstances fall upon the assigned analyst. More specifically, are there multiple EXPERT WITNESS JOURNAL

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the integrity of that evidence, potentially undermine the reported findings and face challenge from the court.

• Does your sales representative truly understand your case and how this will impact your client?

• Does this person understand how to best serve your unique circumstances in an ethical manner?

So when choosing your Forensic provider, ensure that they are ISO 17025 accredited before instructing.

Reputation Whilst all the above requires some serious consideration one of the most important factors to consider is reputation in the market. What do your colleagues or the barrister at the chambers say about your proposed provider’s service? Have they had experience with this provider before? What have they heard from their colleagues? Have they ever experienced or heard about the service that is provided? Former clients or members outside of the industry will offer a true and honest opinion of the service that has been provided, and be a vital un-biased element in acquiring a true representation and idea on what the provider is like, their professionalism, and how they deliver cases.

Other Accreditations As well as ISO 17025, there are a number of other accreditations that are aimed specifically at forensic laboratories of all types, for example ISO 27001:2005 and ISO 9001:2008.

BS EN ISO 27001:2005 This accreditation covers information security management both physically and electronically. This monitors and evaluates threats, vulnerabilities and over impact, and ensures that the provider effectively manages these and retains control.

Due to the sensitive nature of cases that solicitors deal with, it’s necessary to make sure the provider can handle and retain effective control over this sensitive data whilst in their possession and that it is archived or disposed of correctly and accordingly.

Or perhaps most important of all, what have you heard about their reputation already?

BS EN ISO 9001:2008 This is one of the more well-known accreditations, applying to a variety of businesses. ISO 9001 covers quality management systems to ensure that providers can deliver quality services to its stakeholders.

IntaForensics Quality Guarantee IntaForensics provide a quality guaranteed service in line with ISO 9001, 27001 and 17025. We follow our quality assurance reviews on all forensic case submissions, reports and documents created within the company, ensuring that everything we provide to the client is of the highest quality. The Quality Manage-

You need to ensure you can choose a provider where a quality and well delivered service is guaranteed, not only to yourself, but also any members of the courts, CPS or your clients. This is a form of reassurance in knowing that your case will be delivered and handled to the best of the provider’s ability, and will coincide with any case specific timescales you may have.

Is your preferred or potential provider accredited? If not, are they striving towards accreditation? Because if that’s not the case, think how would this affect your defence case in court proceedings?

Ethics It’s always important to research the digital forensics providers you’re requesting a quotation from. Not only to carry out necessary research but to understand their ethics and morals. What is their mission statement and strategic and tactical aims?

Is it to provide quality market leading services with their clients aims at their heart?

Or, is it to become the biggest, most dominant leader in the market and be the most profitable.

Think about: • Does their mission statement and aims bode well with you?

• Is this what you would look for, and expect from a professional provider?

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ment System (QMS) policy is adopted for each case file and follows a predefined check of critical steps in the forensic process. Each step is checked initially by the lead Analyst for compliance, and then peer assessed prior to submission.

Providing digital forensic expertise since 1999

The management of IntaForensics’ service quality is through IntaForensics’ Forensic Case Management Software, Lima. Lima provides a detailed view of case statistics, service level compliance and organisational resources, as well as being able to manage sales, accounting and operational workflow. This quality driven management system enables IntaForensics to have insight into all hardware, software and staff resources within its operation to ensure the demands of the client are met.

Civil and Criminal Litigation

e-Discovery IP Disputes Compliance Fraud

As IntaForensics is BS EN ISO/IEC 27001:2005 accredited, the company can guarantee the information security of its own data and data held on behalf of its clients. We operate a dedicated secure collection and delivery service using our own staffed GPS enabled vehicles, and security cleared drivers. The exhibit collection and delivery service operates a “no stop” service and in all instances, submissions are collected and delivered to the facility in the same day.

Indecent Images

Computers & Phones Corporate Theft Identity Theft Matrimonial Disputes

Request a quotation tel: +44 (0)845 838 7926 admin@sectorforensics.co.uk

www.sectorforensics.co.uk

SECTORFORENSICS SEC TORFORENSICS

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Insufficient Funding for Forensic Science Puts Justice at Risk A lack of funding to improve forensic science is jeopardising the integrity of the criminal justice system, a new report warns In her annual report, Forensic Science Regulator (FSR) Dr Gillian Tully, said not all police forces were fully committed to reaching the required standards, with some failing to recognise the impact of quality failures in the area.

Police forces are required to reach the required standards for digital forensics by 2017. Although there has been a substantial effort within policing to assist forces in reaching the required standards for digital forensics, few will receive accreditation within the time frame.

She also said that the main challenge to achieving quality forensic science over the past year was financial and called on police forces and the Legal Aid Agency to make more funding available.

There is still a risk of incorrect classifications by investigators who classify firearms to establish whether they are illegal weapons.

Forensic Science Regulator, Gillian Tully, said: Police forces must not treat quality standards for forensic science as an optional extra – and neither must others delivering forensic science in the Criminal Justice System.

There is a risk that some forensic medical examiners being commissioned do not have the required level of training and qualification.

The Forensic Science Regulator will continue to work with police and other agencies across the criminal justice system to improve quality of forensic science.

Progress has been made, but some forces say they can’t afford to deliver both operational work and the required standards of forensic science. The standards are not an unachievable “gold-plated” ideal - they are the minimum standards expected of any reliable forensic science.

24 Hour Nationwide Service

The second annual Forensic Science Regulator’s report also calls for investment in the forensic systems currently used by police to ensure they can keep up with increasing amount of work.

Computer Forensics Expert Witness

Other key findings from the report include: The regulator found there is still a significant risk of DNA contamination in police custody. She warns that if guidance is not followed as a matter of urgency, contamination could compromise evidence or mislead the courts.

Computer Forensic Mobile Phone Forensics Cell Site Analysis SatNav Forensics Defence Specialists in Child Pornography, Terrorism and Fraud Cases

There is also a risk of contamination at Sexual Assault Referral Centres which provide support for alleged victims of rape and sexual assault. An investigation by the regulator is currently ongoing following a case last year when contamination at a centre meant that a complainant’s samples could not be used.

Accredited Computer Forensics CPD providers for Solicitors & Barristers

Tel: 0330 660 0052 Principal Examiner-Paul Vella info@evidence-matters.com - www.evidencematters.com 24hr Emergency 07921 579910 - Fax: 0330 660 0053

The report found that forensic science carried out by instruction from defence lawyers has also been under significant financial pressure because of the current legal aid funding.

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New crime scene blood spatters tests can reveal victim's age Blood spatters and saliva at crime scenes can accurately reveal the age of a missing victim or suspect.

The findings appear in the journal Forensic Science International.

A new forensic test developed by scientists at King's College London utilises a technique which uses artificial intelligence to analyse age-related biomarkers.

The technique was able to predict the age of sample donors to within an average of four years.

Senior author Dr Denise Syndercombe-Court, also from King's College London, said: "Through further research, these findings could provide a basis for combined analysis techniques that would be of substantial value in forensic investigations in the future."

The team identified 16 key genetic biomarkers for ageing and tested them using data from 1,156 blood samples.

This is the first study to test next generation sequencing and machine learning technologies together to estimate age from blood and saliva samples."

Dr Denise Syndercombe-Court, is a reader in Forensic Science specialising in identification of people using DNA and other genetically inherited factors.

Experienced in both criminal and civil matters, providing reports for the legal profession dealing with human identification and relationship testing, including paternity.

With the help of AI "machine learning" software, the researchers found that blood provided a good way to guess a person's age. Other tests revealed similar results from saliva.

Need an Forensic expert call our free searchline on 0161 834 0017

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Digital Forensics MSc first to receive GCHQ full certification Cranfield University has become the first university in the UK to receive full certification from the UK Government Communications Headquarters, GCHQ, for a digital forensics course.

The MSc in Digital Forensics run by Cranfield Forensic Institute gained its certification at the first attempt. Course Director Dr Sarah Morris said: “We are pleased that GCHQ has given us this certification after a tough and rigorous process. We deliver a very practical degree – all of our lectures have a practical element – which is highly unusual in academic training for digital forensics.

She added that being part of the well-respected Cranfield Forensic Institute (CFI) also gives them an advantage. “Our students get a host of extra skills from CFI, such as access to sector experts on evidence gathering and courtroom skills.”

About Cranfield Defence and Security Cranfield University is one of the world's leading universities for defence and security education, research and consultancy. As the postgraduate academic provider to the UK’s Ministry of Defence we offer a unique gateway to delivering practical education and solutions that make a real difference to the lives of our military, security and civilian personnel. Cranfield provides specialist knowledge to industry, security and emergency services, military, governments and NGOs, underpinning defence and security sector reform around the world.

“Our students all graduate as very able, very employable people ready to take on roles in digital forensics immediately.”

Until last year, the course was known as forensic computing. It is well established and one of the longest-running in the UK; it started teaching in 1998 and the MScs were first given in 2005.

While GCHQ has given certification to several universities for cybersecurity and information security courses, including provisional certification for Cranfield’s MSc in Cyber Defence and Information Assurance, this is the first time they have fully certified a digital forensics course.

For further information please contact: Toby Shergold, Communications Manager, Cranfield Defence and Security E: t.shergold@cranfield.ac.uk T: +44 (0) 1793 785 004

Chris Ensor, Deputy Director Cyber Skills and Growth at GCHQ, said: “I am really pleased that Cranfield University's degree has been fully certified.

Certified degrees give assurance to students and potential employers that course content is appropriate, well taught by experienced staff and rigorously assessed. We need a cyber-capable workforce both to protect the UK and to benefit fully from all that cyberspace can offer. Studying certified degrees like this one at Cranfield is one way of achieving that.”

Dr Morris believes her course was also successful because her graduates are well set up for a career in a range of government agencies as well as policing and the commercial forensic sector. She said: “Our students don’t necessarily have computing expertise and are from diverse backgrounds.

“We have people from policing, criminology, forensic science graduates as well as people with a general computing background. We ensure all of our students can analyse a range of devices to a significant depth and ability and that they can tackle devices they may not have seen before.”

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Professionalising Policing – Current Developments and Future Proofing The second entry route will be via a specialist policing degree in a similar manner to other professions; this degree will be self-funded by the students like any other degree. It is understood that the curriculum and content will mirror that of the apprenticeship, and probably involve unpaid work experience as a special constable. The third and final entry route will be open to those who have graduated in any subject, followed by a graduate “conversion” programme, delivered by the police service employing them, probably over a period of six months.

Policing continues to be a challenging, demanding, and exciting profession subject to continuous change.

Budget cuts have inevitably reduced the number of staff available to deliver front line policing, and the Service has to do more with less, within a climate of increasing demand in areas such as counter terrorism, cyber-enabled crime and child sexual exploitation.

Professionalising the Police Service is happening now, with significant changes in terms of recruitment and progression being led by the College of Policing, the professional body for policing, and the debate as to whether policing should be a degree level profession is over, it will be. The College of Policing, in consultation with both government and employers have clearly stated that policing will be a graduate profession from 2020. Chief Constable Alex Marshall, College of Policing CEO said recently:-

Changes are not linked just to recruitment at constable level. There is recognition that many police officers do not have formal academic qualifications, but are operating at graduate level, and above in some instances. The College of Policing acknowledge this, and are designing mechanisms to recognise existing officers’ skills and experience in this context.

In addition newly promoted officers will be required to undertake study at graduate and post graduate level, funded by their respective police service employer.

“The nature of police work has changed significantly.

Cyber-enabled crime has increased. So has the need for officers and staff to investigate and gather intelligence online and via information technology.

Protecting vulnerable people has rightly become a high priority for policing. Officers and staff now spend more of their time working to prevent domestic abuse, monitor high-risk sex offenders and protect at-risk children.

The University of Central Lancashire in its School of Forensic and Applied Sciences is already an established provider of policing degrees, from foundation degree to doctorate level. Students studying on the current policing bachelor’s degree have the opportunity to study abroad in their second year at specialist policing academies in Poland, Hungary, the Czech republic and the Netherlands. The School already delivers M.Sc. courses in Criminal Investigation, Counter terrorism, Cybercrime, Financial Investigation, and Professional Practice (Early Action). The School believes it is the leading provider of policing courses in the UK, not least because all members of staff are former practitioners, mostly at a senior level, and of course are appropriately qualified academically. Students studying at postgraduate level have the opportunity to conduct research in more specialised areas of policing under the guidance of our research team, led by Professor Stuart Kirby.

We recognise that the strengths of policing include its accessibility as a career to people of all backgrounds and it being a vocation. We want to preserve these strengths. But we also want to ensure that the increasingly complex activities undertaken by people working in policing are properly recognised.

And it’s important to promote consistent and high standards of service for the public.”

Essentially, there will be three main routes to joining the police as a warranted police officer at constable level. The first of these will be via a relatively newly established qualification, a degree level apprenticeship. Successful applicants will be employed by the police service concerned, and will undertake a programme over three years, partially workplace learning, and partly delivered by a Higher Education Institution, such as a university. Work is ongoing to establish the exact content and curriculum of this qualification, but successful students will be awarded the academic equivalent of a bachelor’s degree.

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Staff from the School are already working closely with the College of Policing to develop programmes linked to the policing professionalisation agenda, from degree level apprenticeships, a specialist policing degree and relevant CPD material for existing officers. The School is equipped with the latest version of Hydra 72

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Minerva Immersive Learning Technology, allowing students exposure to decision making in complex scenarios in a safe simulated environment, complementing the extensive laboratory facilities in the multi-million pound JB Firth Building.

The School of Forensic and Applied sciences is constantly striving to enhance student experience and develop facilities and teaching strategies that equip our students to compete in a challenging jobs market.

Current relevant CPD programmes offered by the School or its internal partners are listed below:Policing • Organisational Development & Partnerships • Continuous Improvement and Learning Organisations • Decision Making • Money Laundering • Policing Cybercrime • Open Source Internet Investigation • Fraud • Homicide Law

If you would like any information about its programmes, or if you are a forensic expert seeking collaborative support in casework experiments please visit us at www.uclan.ac.uk/fas or contact us by email: cenquiries@uclan.ac.uk or telephone +44 (0) 1772 892400.

Forensic Science & Crime Scene Investigation • The Forensic Investigation of Sexual Offences • Forensic Photography • Forensic Interpretation for the Legal Profession • Investigation of Mass Graves • The Application of ISO 17025 (17020) and the Accreditation Process • The Limitations of DNA Evidence Computing • Digital Forensic Investigation • Computer Security • Computer networking

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Above, The JB Firth Building Below, The Hydra Suite

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STUDY WITH THE SPECIALISTS With an international reputation for excellence in teaching and research, UCLan provides an unrivalled student experience in order to equip highly-valued graduates for lifelong achievement in the global market.

Courses include: s BSc Forensic Science

s MSc Counter Terrorism

s BSc Forensic Science and Anthropology

s MSc Criminal Investigation

s BSc Forensic Science and Criminal Investigation

s MSc DNA Profiling

s BSc Policing and Criminal Investigation

s MSc Fire Scene Investigation

s MSc Cybercrime Investigation s MSc Financial Investigation

s MSci Forensic Science and Chemical Analysis

s MSc Forensic Science

s MSci Forensic Science and Molecular Biology

s MSc Professional Practice (Early Action)

s MSci/BSc Archaeology [and Anthropology]

s FdSc Policing

s MSc Forensic Toxicology

Facilities The School houses our new, purposebuilt JB Firth Building complete with specialist laboratories and facilities. In addition, our state-of-the-art resources include three crime scene houses, a vehicle examination area, a Blood Pattern. Analysis Suite and dedicated laboratories for the search and recovery of evidential materials - not to mention our brand new Hydra/Minerva training suite.

Research We have well-established research centres in the areas of materials science, fire and hazards science, investigation and leadership (policing), molecular biology and archaeology.

Call 01772 892400 Email cenquiries@uclan.ac.uk Visit www.uclan.ac.uk/fis

Scientists at Dublin City University uncover opiate-DNA drug interactions First study of its kind reveals new applications for morphine-based pain relievers Scientists at Dublin City University have found that certain types of opiates, widely known for their painkilling properties, can bind to nucleic acids (such as DNA) and significantly alter their structure.

The research discovered that specific morphinebased molecules, synthesised in this study, could bind to the surface of DNA. The binding effects caused the double helix of DNA to collapse—or become condensed—and prepares it for a process known as transfection, a mechanism of delivering foreign genes into host cells.

The finding has significant implications for the development of gene therapy to assist in the fight against diseases.

Transfection is a vital step whereby DNA (and other nucleic acids) can be safely transported through cell membranes for therapeutic and bioprocessing applications.

The study is the first of its kind to show that opiates can bind to DNA (a nucleic acid) and was recently published in the leading Oxford Academic journal Nucleic Acids Research.

The discovery may have significant implications in broadening the therapeutic potential of opiates, such as morphine, and researchers within Dr Kellett’s group are now focusing on applying this technology to biopharmaceutical drug development.

The work is led by Dr Andrew Kellett, a lecturer in medical inorganic chemistry at the School of Chemistry and of the National Institute for Cellular Biotechnology (NICB) and his research group including PhD student Natasha McStay and Dr Zara Molphy, a postdoctoral research fellow in the group.

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World-leading Imaging Centre of Excellence to be Officially Opened in Glasgow The University of Glasgow will officially open its new £32M Imaging Centre of Excellence (ICE), on Wednesday 29 March 2017.

ICE brings together world-leading research, cutting edge technology and international business investment under one roof and will act as a hub for translating science into economic and patient benefit for Glasgow, Scotland and the UK.

The unique medical research facility, which was built in collaboration with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) and with £16m funding from the Medical Research Council and Glasgow City Region City Deal, will be opened by the Chief Executive Designate of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), Professor Sir Mark Walport.

The project will bring 396 new high-value jobs to the city over a seven year period and has been independently assessed to contribute £88m to the local economy.

With aims to become a global centre of excellence for precision medicine, the building is already home to Scotland’s first 7 Tesla MRI scanner – the first of its kind in the UK in a clinical setting. The scanner will be a focus of research for clinical and non-clinical academic imaging specialists and clinical physics expertise.

The opening event, which is also part of the College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences’ Industry Day, will also be attended by Sadie Doherty, Lord Provost of Glasgow, and Frank McAveety, leader of Glasgow City Council.

Image, Prof Dame Anna Dominiczak outside the Imaging Centre of Excellence, image by University of Glasgow, Martin Shields

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“It will also provide the most advanced imaging facilities in the world on the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital campus.”

Professor Anton Muscatelli, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University, said: “The opening of ICE, and what it will achieve in terms of medical science, is not only a reflection of Glasgow’s position as one of the world’s great research-intensive universities, but also its wider strategic vision to embed new technologies, transform the way we work and bring economic benefit to our community.

The state of the art building will also house the Clinical Innovation Zone, a space dedicated to biomedical companies, which will facilitate industry collaborations and the development of innovative healthcare technology. There will also be a further floor of neuro operating theatres, which will be funded by the NHS GGC. The Clinical Innovation Zone has already attracted international small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) from around the world, including Germany and Singapore. Also in attendance at the opening was the Singapore High Commissioner, Her Excellency Ms FOO Chi Hsia.

“ICE also exemplifies the university’s goal to create visionary buildings that promote interaction with industry and other key stakeholders, bringing inspiring people together in a world-class environment to share knowledge that can ultimately change the world.”

ICE is one of three projects in the Glasgow City Region City Deal’s Innovation and Growth theme, alongside MediCity and The Tontine, Centre for Business Incubation and Development in the Merchant City.

UK Government minister Andrew Dunlop said: “The UK Government in investing £16 million in this imaging centre of excellence. It will provide groundbreaking medical research facilities for clinical researchers and companies developing new products, generating jobs and growing Glasgow’s economy.

This is a prime example of what can be achieved when we work together in partnership through UK City Deals.”

Professor Dame Anna Dominiczak, Vice Principal and Head of the College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, said: “ICE will be a world-leading example of a precision medicine centre, bringing together the key partners of the University of Glasgow, the NHS and industry together to further clinical research and ultimately bring economic and patient benefits not only for Glasgow, but to the whole of Scotland.

“The ICE isn’t about ivory tower research, it is about bringing world-leading clinical academics together with industry to collaborate and to create something that not only positively benefits patients but also brings a meaningful economic benefit as well.”

Councillor Frank McAveety, Leader of Glasgow City Council and Chair of the Glasgow City Region Cabinet, said: “Glasgow is one of the world’s most innovative cities – with both a proud history and a bright future in life sciences and new technologies.

“This fantastic new facility is a great example of how our ground-breaking Glasgow City Region City Deal is already helping to reinforce that global reputation – while delivering jobs, infrastructure and a whole range of other economic and social benefits.”

Above, Frank McAveety, leader of Glasgow City Council opens the centre

Robert Calderwood, Chief Executive of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, said: “The opening of this new building is a further step in the collaboration between the NHS and the University of Glasgow to provide world-leading research and cutting edge technology which will benefits patients across Scotland and beyond.

“The Imaging Centre of Excellence (ICE) has provided us (NHSGGC) the opportunity to develop four state of the art theatres with full ancillary accommodation which will be utilised by the Department of Neurosurgery and Oral Maxillofacial Surgery.

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Above, Prof Dame Anna Dominiczak in the Imaging Centre of Excellence, all images by University of Glasgow, Martin Shields

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