For those who are interested, a slightly busy website with a fascinating timeline:

http://studymore.org.uk/mhhtim.htm

You might want to listen to a careful and thorough overview of crime statistics. This is essential listening for any forensic psychiatrist or forensic mental health worker. It’s free, and well worth 25 minutes. Find it on the BBC website here or on iTunes here. Is crime actually rising? You’ll be an expert in 25 minutes!

The excellent Tim Harford has a lot to tell us about the world. More information about the economics of crime (and other things) can be found in his breakthrough book The Undercover Economist. Worth £6.99 of my money and a good read. You will see the world in a new way.

 

 

 

 

A former Home Secretary interviews another former Home Secretary (and others) about IPPs – why they were introduced and why they were scrapped. This is an excellent overview of how and why failed policies are introduced and feted. Alarmingly, the presenters recognise the problems of IPPs and almost laugh it off. Little consolation for the many people who remain on IPPs. Also little recognition of the ongoing flurry of doomed policies that have been introduced in the same way – Sustainability and Transformation Plans, anyone?

Anyone with even a passing interest in forensic psychiatry, the criminal justice system or public policy should listen to this.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08crt6m

For a more in depth look at Criminal Law, see the Gold Standard textbook for our trainees:

 

A new report is out from the Association for Real Change (ARC) – download it here.

People with LD in the criminal justice system – a guide for carers and services

Thank you to Mary Barrett, East Midlands ID TPD for highlighting this.

Applications from Consultants wishing to become Clinical Supervisors are always very welcome. It is not very burdensome and we want to do what we can to make it as easy as possible. This will give our trainees the best choice of trainers and the best trainers. You have the benefit of having a lively, engaged and stimulating trainee around.

Being a Clinical Supervisor (CS) means that you have a trainee placed with you, working in your team. We have two Educational Supervisors (ES), Dr Simon Gibbon and Dr Mary DiLustro. The ESs act more like mentors over the whole three years of training. The ESs are also CSs.

There is some paperwork to complete (see next paragraph) which is essentially a job description and timetable – we can fill in anything on the form which is not immediately obvious. There is also a GMC requirement that all clinical supervisors undertake Clinical Supervisor training. This is done online at  http://www.e-lfh.org.uk/programmes/educational-and-clinical-supervisors/. This e-learning genuinely doesn’t take long. Once complete, please email a copy of the certificate to elaine.hayes@nottshc.nhs.uk.  You also need to have in-date Equality and Diversity training, but you will have this anyway as part of ongoing essential training with your Trust.

Simply complete the form available using this link (Clinical Supervisor Application form). Some of it has been pre-filled. The main information required is a timetable for yourself and the timetable a trainee placed with you would have. These should show good overlap between your clinical time as well as weekly supervision for an hour and a day for research and special interest for the trainee. A brief CV is also needed (no more than 2 pages). There is guidance here (Clinical Supervisor application guidance document) if needed, but the form is relatively self-explanatory and any questions that are not self-evident should be left blank. Please also provide a job description (your job description will do). The final requirement is for an outline of how the job will match the Intended Learning Outcomes. If you download this document (Intended Learning Outcomes ILOs for forensic psychiatry) and just add 2-3 lines for each outcome, about how the trainee can do this in your post, that would be great.

Here’s a list of what’s needed:

1. The Clinical Supervisor Application Form
2. Your brief CV
3. Job description (ideally for the trainee – your job description will do)
4. ILO mapping document
5. Your timetable and the trainee’s timetable – including info about the trainee’s on call – where, how often (1:x) and what banding

Please email to the form to nicholas.taylor@nottshc.nhs.uk once complete. I then fill in the section in the application form notes.

Once I have received the form, the proposed placement will be discussed at the next Higher Specialist Training Committee and then taken to the School of Psychiatry Board meeting. This process can take some time. Thank you for your support of the training scheme, your interest in becoming a clinical supervisor – and your patience!

Once you are approved, you just need to come to the occasional training committee meeting (dates are set 12 months in advance to make this as easy as possible) and update the job description as and when it changes. That’s it.