Request an assessment
Preliminary enquiries from solicitors, counsel and case workers are welcome, including before a final decision to instruct has been taken. There is no need to send a full bundle simply to establish whether an assessment is appropriate or what timescale is available.
What happens next
Enquiries receive a reply within one working day, with availability, a quote and the name of the consultant best placed to take the case.
Who can instruct
Instructions are accepted from defence solicitors, the prosecution and the court. If you are preparing a letter of instruction, a draft can be reviewed before it is finalised. Instructions cannot be accepted directly from defendants or their families.
What to include in an enquiry
A few lines covering the following points are usually enough for an initial response:
- the defendant’s initials;
- the charge or charges and the court;
- the next hearing date and the present stage of proceedings;
- whether the defendant is in custody, hospital or the community;
- the nature of the concern – for example difficulty taking instructions, cognitive impairment, psychosis, autism, brain injury or another issue identified in conference;
- whether a psychiatric, psychological or neuropsychological report already exists;
- the funding position, including whether Legal Aid Agency prior authority is required.
Availability and the likely timescale can usually be considered from these preliminary details. Further papers can then be requested if required.
Please do not send medical records, witness statements or other case papers with a preliminary enquiry. Secure arrangements for documents can be provided once the enquiry has been considered.
Urgent matters
Where a hearing date makes the ordinary timescale unworkable, say so in the first message rather than after instructions have been sent. Expedited assessment can often be arranged, but only if the constraint is known at the outset.
About the practice
Instructions on fitness to plead are accepted by experienced consultant forensic psychiatrists working across England and Wales. Assessments are undertaken wherever the defendant is – prison, secure or general hospital, a solicitor’s office, the community, or remotely where circumstances require it.
This site deals specifically with fitness to plead and the Pritchard criteria. Details of the wider practice and of the individual psychiatrists who accept instructions are at forensicpsychiatryexperts.co.uk.