Overhaul of expert witness programme proposed

England’s chief medical officer has proposed a radical overhaul of the system for providing expert witnesses for family courts.

The key proposal of Sir Liam Donaldson's report was that a new service should be established by the NHS, whereby teams of specialist doctors and other professionals in local NHS organisations would group together to improve the quality of the service by introducing mentoring, supervision and peer review, backed by a new National Knowledge Service to support the medical expert witness programme.

The report also suggested that the legal professions should use a checklist in order to establish the credentials of prospective medical expert witnesses.

Sir Liam said that these measures should avoid the risk of reports for the courts being biased by the view of one particular person, or lacking in the authority that comes from a sound evidence base. He also said that the measures would address the difficulty in maintaining an adequate supply of medical expert witnesses.

The proposals follow a number of high profile court cases where the quality of medical expert witnesses were called into question, such as the cases of Angela Cannings and Sally Clark. Both women were initially convicted of killing their children at trials which included evidence by experts witnesses. However, they were later cleared when the convictions were ruled unsafe.

Sir Liam said: "It has become increasingly difficult for courts to find doctors willing to come forward as expert witnesses, especially where child abuse is suspected. We need to create a system that both the expert witnesses and general public can be confident is of the highest standard.

"These proposals are driven by my conviction that it is the duty of medical professionals and health organisations to safeguard children. Ensuring that the family courts have access to the best information when making decisions that will affect the lives of some of our most vulnerable children is closely linked to that duty.

Care Services Minister Ivan Lewis said: "For the sake of the vulnerable children and families whose future depends on legal judgements, we must secure the best possible medical expertise in public law Children Act cases.

Sir Ronald De Witt, Chief Executive of Her Majesty's Court Service, said: "I welcome the report's overall objective to improve the quality and supply of medical expert witnesses provided to the family courts. I see this as a positive step forward in working towards the development of a larger pool of experts, within a framework that will also provide quality and cost control."

(KMcA)