A Clinician's Brief Guide to the Coroner's Court and Inquests

A straightforward and practical guide to equip healthcare professionals with the knowledge and skills to prepare for and navigate inquests.

Gabrielle Pendlebury (Edited by), Derek Tracy (Edited by)

9781009450096, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 21 November 2024

118 pages
23.4 x 15.5 x 0.7 cm, 0.19 kg

'Sometimes a new book arrives, and one wonders how we possibly managed without it. This is such a book … Having given evidence myself a few times, both as a professional and an expert witness, I learnt lots more from this book and would certainly re-read this should I be called again.' Keith Rix, Expert Healthcare Witness Matters, provided by the MAEP team at the Royal College of Psychiatrists

The sudden and unexpected death of a patient can be emotionally complex and overwhelming for clinicians. This book will equip medical and other healthcare professionals with the necessary information and skills to fulfil their requirements in the coroner's court confidently and competently and understand their organisation's responsibilities. Practical and straightforward, this book aims to make the unfamiliar territory of the coroner's court transparent, enabling clinicians to negotiate all eventualities. It will provide clinicians with the confidence to turn what can feel like an adversarial situation into an opportunity to engage with an important part of the healthcare system, preventing future deaths and providing understanding to relatives. It also explores the underlying necessity of complying with requirements and suggests ways to cope with the emotional impact. With chapters covering expert witnesses, legal perspectives and managing outcomes, this book is essential for any healthcare professional called to an inquest.

Foreword H. H. J. Teague KC and Dame Clare Gerada DBE
The aim of this book Gabrielle Pendlebury and Derek Tracy
1. Introduction Gabrielle Pendlebury and Derek Tracy
2. History of Coroner's court Arif Naqvi and Gabrielle Pendlebury
3. The role of the Coroner Lydia Brown
4. Patient safety incident response framework and inquests Elaine Chung, Eva Ferlez, Christopher Hilton, Shaun O'Connell and Derek Tracy
5. Notification of deaths to the Coroner and the decision to investigate: when and who should contact the Coroner Karen Hall and Gabrielle Pendlebury
6. The scope of the investigation Gabrielle Pendlebury and Carol Seymour
7. Interested persons Gabrielle Pendlebury and Derek Tracy
8. Deaths involving suicide and unlawful killing (homicide offences) Gabrielle Pendlebury
9. The statement (or Report) for the court Gabrielle Pendlebury
10. Pre-inquest Review Hearing (PIRH) and rule 23 Gabrielle Pendlebury
11. The professional as witness Gabrielle Pendlebury
12. Expert witnesses in the Coroner's court Keith Rix
13. On the day: Giving evidence Mark Tarn and Gabrielle Pendlebury
14. Giving evidence: Nursing perspectives Stephanie Bridger, Sonya Clinch and Gillian Kelly
15. The roles of advocates and the jury in the Coroner's court: a legal perspective Emma Galland
16. Outcomes, including regulation 28 reports – Prevention of future death Derek Winter and Gabrielle Pendlebury
17. Managing adverse outcomes, including referral of professionals to regulatory bodies and developing a professional development plan Gabrielle Pendlebury and Derek Tracy
18. Managing the emotions around the Inquest process and the Coroner's Court Sian McIver, Sunita Shridhar and Shirley Tench
Appendices
References.

Subject Areas: Medicine: general issues [MB]