Faculty of Forensic & Legal

14th Annual Conference 2021

Friday 07 May 2021

Raising Standards – a balancing act?

Dr Alex J Gorton FFLM Assistant Registrar

Chair: Friday Morning Session

Alex qualified from University of Wales College of Medicine in 2002 and has had a varied portfolio career since. Originally training in general he migrated to before spending several years working full time in the private sector as a forensic . In that role he has had a number of senior positions including medical director to one of the private providers.

Throughout his career he has been passionate about standards and training and this has translated into his current role as Assistant Registrar for the FFLM. He has a solid understanding of legal aspects of medical practice having gained a Master of Laws from Cardiff Law School.

Alex is active in writing national guidance for forensic and legal medicine as well as developing training modules for forensic and emergency trainees alike. He sits on a number of national committees including the NPCC Clinical Advice Panel and the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges (Wales) Council.

He currently works part time as an Emergency Medicine Middle Grade at Princess of Wales Hospital, Bridgend as well as regularly working within police custody suites across the UK. In addition to this he has recently been appointed as a Medical Examiner for South East Wales.

Prof Margaret M Stark FFLM President

Now and Beyond

Margaret Stark is the current President of the Faculty of Forensic & Legal Medicine (FFLM). She is Chair of the Forensic Science Sub-Committee and the Training and Education Sub-committee of the FFLM, Lead Facilitator for the Faculty’s course in General Forensic Medicine, and an educational advisor for the Faculty’s examinations. She has been a forensic physician for nearly 32 years, currently working with the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS). She was the first Medical Director of the Forensic Healthcare Service in London and was also the Director of the Clinical Forensic Medicine Unit for NSW Police, based in Sydney, from 2011 – 2014.

She has a Master of Science in from UCL, and a Master in Law from Cardiff. She was the Founding Academic Dean for the FFLM and was awarded the David Jenkins Professorship in Forensic and Legal Medicine 2011/12 and was an Adjunct Professor at Sydney University from 2012-2015. She is Editor of ‘Clinical Forensic Medicine’ A Physician’s Guide, the fourth edition published in 2020. She is an Honorary Professor of Teesside University.

Prof Andrew Goddard President, Royal College of

Challenges of leadership in the recent year Reflections and lessons learned from the challenges faced by the medical profession and the role of medical leadership during the pandemic.

Professor Andrew Goddard is the president of the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), and a consultant physician and gastroenterologist at Royal Derby Hospital.

After gaining an MD from Cambridge University, Professor Goddard trained in Nottingham and was appointed as a consultant physician and gastroenterologist in Derby in 2001. He was director of the RCP’s Medical Workforce Unit for 5 years until being appointed RCP registrar in 2014. In this role, he oversaw professional and clinical affairs, both in the UK and internationally. His main policy areas were workforce, healthcare funding, the future of general medicine, the medical registrar and ‘keeping medicine brilliant’. In 2018 he was elected the 121st RCP president, the youngest for 400 years and first from the East Midlands. His priorities for his term are ‘workforce, wellbeing and worldwide’ and these will feature strongly in the RCP strategy for the next 5 years.

He is currently Chair of the MHRA expert advisory group on AI, software and Apps and has a keen interest in the use of innovative technologies in improving healthcare. During the COVID-19 pandemic Professor Goddard has been instrumental in influencing the national response and representing the fellowship and membership views.

Prof Maggie Rae President, Faculty of

Forensic and Legal Medicine: Protecting Health for All

Maggie Rae is currently the President of the Faculty of Public Health (FPH). She has particular interests in health inequalities, sustainable development, workforce, education and standards setting for Public Health. She is Head of the South West Academy of Population and Public Health for Health Education England. She leads the South West Specialist Public Health Training Programme and is committed to helping develop the Public Health future workforce.

Maggie is a Visiting Professor of Public Health, University of the West of England, and has extensive experience of working at all levels in public health. She has been a Director of Public Health – twice! She also led on Health Inequalities and Local Delivery at the Department of Health.

In her role as President she works closely with the Academy of Royal Medical Colleges, Local Government Association and a wide range of partner agencies who have interests in Public Health. Maggie has recently joined the National Advisory Board for Population Health and Integrated Care Systems in England. She is committed to working with all 4 Nations of the UK and FPH members across the world.

Mr Leslie Hamilton Chair of the Independent Review of Gross Negligence Manslaughter and Culpable Homicide

Interaction of the criminal law with clinical practice – does it raise standards? The death of a 6 year old boy led to the conviction of a paediatric trainee for Gross Negligence Manslaughter and the erasure of her name from the Medical Register. I will explore how errors in clinical practice can lead to a criminal investigation and hopefully provide some reassurance to doctors at the “front line” of healthcare.

As a young Consultant paediatric cardiac surgeon, Leslie gave evidence to the Bristol Inquiry. This stimulated an interest in the interaction of law and clinical practice and later prompted an LLM in Medical Law. Later, this opened a number of opportunities including appointment as Assistant Coroner.

As a member of the Council of the Royal College of Surgeons, Leslie was one of the authors of "Good Surgical Practice" and after the Montgomery case, he helped to write the College's guidance "Consent: supported decision making". He is a past President of SCTS (Society for in GB+I).

Having worked with Dame Clare Marx when she was President of the RCSE, he was invited to be part of her working group when the GMC asked her to undertake a Review of Gross Negligence Manslaughter. When she was appointed as the incoming Chair of the GMC, he was asked to take over as Chair of the Review.

Dr Helena Thornton

FFLM Registrar

Chair - Friday Afternoon Session and Annual General Meeting

I qualified in Birmingham University in 1978, and moved to Manchester in 1980, and joined General Practice as a principal in 1981.

In 1995 I responded to an invitation to find out more about St Mary’s Sexual Assault Referral Centre, became inspired by Dr Raine Roberts and Dr Vicky Evans, and joined the team. I have worked there ever since. I retired from General Practice in 2017, but continue to work at St Mary’s Centre.

I took the Diploma in Medical Jurisprudence in 1999, and was a Founder Member of the Faculty. I was an examiner for the DFCASA (Diploma in Forensic and Clinical aspects of sexual assault), run with the Society of Apothecaries, and then became an examiner for the Faculty exams in 2008. I was the Chief Examiner from 2013 to 2018, and became the Registrar in May 2020. I am involved in teaching and training in Manchester.

I am passionate about providing excellent care to complainants of sexual assaults of all ages, and about maintaining standards in forensic medicine generally.

I live in Saddleworth with my husband and 3 very spoilt cats, and when not working I am learning to play the saxophone.

Professor Phillip Lumb David Jenkins Lecturer

Sharp Force Deaths in the North West of England

Philip Lumb has been a Home Office Pathologist since 2003 and now works within the Greater Manchester, East Lancashire and South Yorkshire areas, providing a forensic service to the local police forces. He is the current President of the British Association in Forensic Medicine and was previously the Chair of the Association of Clinical Pathologists’ Forensic and Autopsy Pathology Specialty Group. Over the years, he has conducted a large number of autopsies on suspicious deaths and has developed interests in mass fatalities and the high risk autopsy.

Faculty of Forensic & Legal Medicine 14th Annual Conference 2021

Raising Standards – A Balancing Act?

Friday 07 May 2021

Morning Session chaired by Dr Alex Gorton, FFLM Assistant Registrar

Faculty of Forensic 09:15 – 09:30 Now and Beyond & Legal Medicine Prof Margaret Stark, FFLM President of the Royal college of Physicians 09:30 – 10:15 Challenges of leadership in the recent year Prof Andrew Goddard, President of the Royal College of Physicians 10:15 – 10:30 Q+A

10:30 – 10:45 Break

10:45 – 11:30 Forensic and Legal Medicine: Protecting Health for All Prof Maggie Rae, President of the Faculty of Public Health 11:30 – 11:45 Q+A

11:45 – 12:30 Interaction of the criminal law with clinical practice - does it raise standards? Mr Leslie Hamilton, Chair of the Independent Review of Gross Negligence Manslaughter and Culpable Homicide 12:30 – 12:45 Q+A

12:45 – 13:30 Break for Lunch

Afternoon Session chaired by Dr Helena Thornton, FFLM Registrar

13:30 – 14:30 David Jenkins Lecture: Sharp Force Deaths in the North West of England Prof Phillip Lumb 14:30 – 14:45 Q+A

14:45 – 15:00 Break

15:00 – 16:30 Annual General Meeting

All details in this programme are subject to alteration without notice

Development & Training Dates for 2021

FFLM Course in General Forensic Medicine  Monday 12 to Friday 16 July  Monday 18 to Friday 22 October

Our five day Course in General Forensic Medicine (accredited by Teesside University) is for newly appointed or prospective forensic physicians, nurses and paramedics and leads to the University Certificate in Postgraduate Professional Development (UCPPD) in General Forensic Medicine.

There is one day of face to face teaching (on the Monday) and the rest of the course is delivered remotely. The face to face training will take place in London at the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine.

The course covers the following five modules:  Module 1: Role of the Healthcare Professional (HCP) working in a multidisciplinary team; Personal safety and conflict resolution; Consent, confidentiality and ethics; Safeguarding.  Module 2: Fitness to detain, transfer and record keeping; Fitness to interview and charge; Administration of medication; Assessment of mental health and fitness to release.  Module 3: Traffic medicine – procedures under the Road Traffic Acts; Substance misuse, comorbidity and intimate searches; forensic science and sampling.  Module 4: Documentation, interpretation and management of injuries; Management of alleged restraint injuries; HCP at the scene of death; Death in custody and the Independent Investigation of Deaths in Custody.  Module 5: Statement writing; The Court system.

The course is assessed in two areas:  Court Room Presentation undertaken during the taught element of the course on the Friday;  Reflective case study (2000 word essay to be submitted four weeks after the course).

For more information, please click here.

FFLM Virtual Courtroom Skills Course  Tuesday 15 June 2021 from 10:00 to 13:00

Forensic clinicians are frequently asked to provide witness statements following the assessment of a detainee or a complainant. These statements detail the clinical findings, as recorded in the contemporaneous clinical records, and use language that can be understood by lay people.

Our new half-day course will give clinicians the opportunity to practice writing a statement relevant to their practice and being examined / cross-examined in a virtual courtroom setting.

For more information, please click here.

Upcoming Webinars

Have you seen our webinar programme?

There are plenty of upcoming sessions and some are even free for members to attend!

Date Webinar Presenter/s Dr Maeve Eogan Overview of the Sexual Assault Forensic Thurs 13 May at 19:00 Dr Joanne Nelson and Clinical Services in the Republic of Ireland Dr Roger Derham Thurs 20 May at 19:00 Medical Conditions, DVLA and (F)ME!! Dr Sophie Carter-Ingram Mon 24 May at 19:00 Expert evidence: questions and answers Prof Keith Rix Wed 02 June at 19:00 GHBRS and Chemsex Mr David Stuart

Maintaining a Space for FMEs: Professional Mon 07 June at 19:00 Dr Gethin Rees Challenges in Forensic Medicine

Mon 21 June at 19:00 GHB and related analogues Dr David Wood Wed 30 June at 19:00 Adult Safeguarding Dr Elisabeth Alton Thurs 15 July at 19:00 Driven to Drink Dr Paul Williams Mon 26 July at 19:00 Fitness to be interviewed by the police Prof Margaret Stark DC David Tate and Wed 21 July at 10:00 Tackling Stalking: A Multi-Agency Approach Dr Alan Underwood Thurs 09 Sept at 19:00 Title TBC Prof Andrew Harris

Mon 13 Sept at 19:00 DLM and MFFLM Part 1 Revision Prof Sarah Hull

Mon 20 Sept at 17:00 LFFLM Part 1 Revision Dr Lucy Love

Webinars listed in blue are free for FFLM Members (Affiliates, Associates, Fellows, Licentiates and Members) to attend.

For more information and to register, please click here.

Have you thought about taking the Diploma of Legal Medicine (DLM)?

Are you interested in the interface between clinical practice and the law? Then you may find studying for the Diploma of Legal Medicine of benefit for your work.

The Faculty of Forensic & Legal Medicine’s Diploma of Legal Medicine leads to the postnominal DLM.

This qualification may be of interest to a wide range of healthcare professionals:

 Dentists, doctors, nurses, and paramedics;  Legal advisors, file handlers and case reviewers working in the various Regulatory settings (GDC, GMC, NMC, HCPC), or for the medical defence organisations (MDOs), and within NHS England;  Individuals who provide professional or expert witness evidence in various disciplines may also find this qualification of benefit for their role.

The DLM examination has a one-paper format consisting of 150 best-of-five multiple-choice questions to be completed within three hours. Candidates are tested on a wide range of topics in Legal Medicine as set out in the published syllabus. See: https://fflm.ac.uk/exams/dlm.

The DLM is offered yearly. The next exam is on Friday 08 October 2021. That examination, as well as all the Faculty’s written exams, is online and can be sat for anywhere in the world, from the comfort of your own home/office.

The FFLM has produced numerous publications to assist students https://fflm.ac.uk/resources/publications and provides a wide range of learning activities to support those studying in this field including eLearning, webinars and face-to-face study days. See: https://fflm.ac.uk/e-learning

Thank you for attending this year’s conference

We look forward to welcoming you to the Royal College of Pathologists, London for next year’s conference on Friday 06 and Saturday 07 May 2022

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