Providing a forensic psychiatry service to a magistrates' court

Abstract

We looked at the volume and type of work involved in providing a psychiatric service to a busy inner city magistrates' court. We assessed all remand prisoners considered to be mentally disordered and who were appearing before the bench on the day of referral. We found that most of the referrals were appropriate and required some form of intervention. There was co-operation from the courts and district psychiatric services though the latter expressed concern about the implications of the purchaser provider model.