Coming January 2026 - At Risk and Under Restriction: Mental Health Expert Perspectives from Crisis to Courtroom
Date and Time: TBC
Location: TBC
Join us for an engaging seminar exploring the role of the expert witness in mental health cases. Alongside the learning, the seminar is a valuable opportunity to network with peers, share experiences, and strengthen connections across the field
Designed for those working in mental health law, clinical negligence and personal injury, this event brings together leading mental health nurse experts and a barrister to share their perspectives on risk assessment, restrictive practice, and the legal challenges that arise in acute and in-patient care. Through real-world examples and expert insight, you’ll gain a clearer understanding of how lapses in assessment, documentation and practice can amount to breaches of duty — and what to look for when reviewing medical records in negligence claims.
On the Agenda
Risk Assessment and Management in Acute and Emergency Settings
This session, delivered by our Mental Health Nurse expert Stephen Marks, explores the critical issue of risk assessment in acute and emergency department environments. The focus will be on the identification, documentation and management of risk.
Stephen will examine the different levels of suicide risk and the appropriate management strategies that should follow, highlighting where failures commonly occur - such as incomplete assessments, missed mental state evaluations, premature discharges and inadequate communication between ED staff and liaison psychiatry teams. Examples will be used to illustrate when suicide is not predictable, and where, in contrast, lapses in risk management may amount to a breach of duty.
This session will equip you with an understanding of how risk is assessed in practice in the acute setting, the standards expected and the red flags to look for when reviewing clinical records in negligence claims.
Restrictive Practice, Seclusion and Risk in In-Patient Mental Health Settings
In this session, Sian Cooper, Mental Health Nurse Expert, will examine the lawful and unlawful use of restrictive practices within secure and in-patient mental health care. She will cover the risks associated with restraint, seclusion and segregation, and how improper use can give rise to legal challenge.
The session will place a particular focus on risk: how it should be assessed, documented and managed, and which specific risk assessments solicitors should look out for when reviewing medical bundles.
We will also consider how failures in risk assessment or documentation can escalate into unlawful practice, and what constitutes safe and proportionate care in this context. You will gain insight into the risk frameworks used in secure settings, the types of lapses that commonly occur and the potential medico-legal implications.
Meet the Speakers
Stephen Marks
Stephen is a highly experienced mental health nurse, having worked across a variety of mental health settings throughout his career - predominantly in liaison psychiatry - and he has also practiced as a care coordinator and a home-based treatment team practitioner.
Within his clinical career, he has been responsible for the assessment, diagnosis, treatment and risk management of complex patients. Stephen has a special interest in the identification and management of organic psychosis, perinatal mental health, and equality and diversity in mental health care, and his advanced clinical practice has included working with patients with depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, PTSD, dementia, psychosis, delirium and personality disorders (predominantly emotionally unstable personality disorder).
Sian Cooper
Sian Cooper is a highly experienced advanced nurse practitioner specialising in mental health care across a range of settings, including acute mental health and Forensic Mental Health services. Her clinical expertise spans psychosis and dual diagnosis, alongside her advanced skills in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for psychosis, non-medical prescribing and leadership within multidisciplinary teams.
Beginning her career in low secure units and providing cross-coverage for psychiatric intensive care units (PICU), Sian honed her skills in mental health care, medication management, and tribunal reporting.
Sian has experience of dealing with acute and long-term mental health care, including psychosis and personality disorders, and she has extensive experience in comprehensive patient assessments, risk formulation, and implementing tailored care plans, often for individuals under the Mental Health Act or those with reduced capacity requiring robust advocacy and treatment.