Faculty Officers
President
Dr Bernadette Butler
Forensic Physician
Bernadette was brought up in Bristol and qualified from St Thomas’ Hospital Medical School, University of London, in 1978.
After initial specialist training in Obstetrics & Gynaecology, (O&G), she stepped off the ‘career ladder’, after her children were born. She continued working in O&G, until, fortuitously in 2000, she joined what became the London sexual assault referral centre, (SARC), The Havens. Thus, her career in forensic medicine began, developing through the support and encouragement of her husband and children, colleagues and the FFLM.
Her forensic medical education continued through the University of Ulster, (UU), Course, then as a Member and Fellow of the FFLM. She still works at the Havens, as a forensic physician and as the clinical education and training lead. She has also worked in the Surrey and Gloucestershire SARCs.
She has an interest in education and training: no clinician would progress without the commitment and enthusiasm of those who help others learn: the ‘trainer’/supervisor, peers, students and patients.
Bernadette also sits as a Lay Magistrate in Surrey, where she lives with her family and Byron, the ‘rescue’ Great Dane.
President-Elect
Dr Alex Gorton
MB Bch, MRCS, LLM(LAMP), RCPathME, FFFLM
Forensic Physician
Alex qualified from University of Wales College of Medicine in 2002 and has had a varied portfolio career since. Originally training in general surgery he migrated to emergency medicine before spending several years working full time in the private sector as a forensic physician. In that role he has had a number of senior positions including medical director to one of the private providers. Throughout his career he has been passionate about standards and training and this translated into his role as Assistant Registrar for the FFLM from 2016 to 2021. He has a solid understanding of legal aspects of medical practice having gained a Master of Laws from Cardiff Law School.
Alex is active in writing national guidance for forensic and legal medicine as well as developing training modules for forensic and emergency trainees alike. He sits on a range of national committees including the NPCC Clinical Advice Panel, the BMA Forensic & Secure Environments Committee and the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges (Wales) Council.
Over the last few years, he has been heavily involved in supporting the NPCC developing a competency framework for assessment of individuals exposed to Conducted Energy Devices, co-written the FFLM Joint CED Working Group Guidelines, and is the lead facilitator for the FFLM national training course for clinicians assessing individuals who have been exposed to a conducted energy device.
In addition to his forensic medical roles he works part time as an Emergency Medicine Middle Grade and as a Senior Medical Examiner in Wales.
Registrar
Dr Iain Brew
FRCGP FFFLM FFMLM LLDip
GP working in Prisons
Joining the FFLM so recently, in 2021, as a Foundation Fellow in the secure and detained settings section, I was surprised and honoured to be invited to become a Trustee of the Faculty when I accepted nomination to be the Registrar with effect from the Annual Conference in May 2023. After 18 months, it feels like we have achieved a lot, but there remains a huge amount of work to fill my remaining 18 months in post.
Having some understanding of charity law from my Graduate Diploma in Law, I knew that my fiduciary duties for the financial and reputational wellbeing of the Faculty was a significant challenge, but I was reassured by the demitting Registrar that I should park my imposter syndrome. I’m still not certain she was right in that regard!
It was a steep learning curve in the first few weeks and months…exams, publications, meetings and committees…but the team of senior officers and trustees was supportive and it felt that we gelled well. As our confidence grew and organisational memory improved, with much input from a variety of experienced past office-holders (including Prof Margaret Stark, Prof Jason Payne-James and Dr Alex Gorton to name but three of many), we started to take stock, accounting for the views of our members in the membership survey and previous strategy documents, we began to take the reins more effectively.
Regular office meetings and frequent standing meetings (including Membership and Fellowship Committee, business meetings including Board and Senior Officer/Vice-President Meetings, not to mention Chief Examiner’s Committe and Academic Committee and Specialist Accreditation Committee) keep me busy. Daily email traffic ranging from straightforward queries to important decisions with short turnaround times also keeps me out of mischief on a daily basis…but there is always someone with relevant experience, skills or knowledge available to guide.
It is a privilege to work with our salaried Office Team and voluntary Trustees and Leads. It is also a challenge and I have had the opportunity to draw on my experience of leadership, management and HR processes in my role as Registrar so far. Changes in our salaried team brought new ideas and expertise and we agreed some changes to the Office Team’s approach.
The team will joke that I say, “I am allergic to single points of failure” or ask, “what is the process for this?” But the sentiment is real: in a small team, it is vital that there is resilience so as not to lose momentum in making the Faculty work.
The appointment of a new Examinations Manager and Finance Assistant allowed us to complete a project to review our examinations and associated processes with improved use of the technology contracts held by the Faculty. This significant investment will improve our candidates’ experience for future examination cycles and we now have a database of all historic examination questions and results. We have invested in training, reviewed job descriptions and adjusted salaries to ensure that our team is rewarded properly for their work in line with equivalent virtual office salary scales. The Faculty would not operate at all without our team and it was important to me that they felt well-supported.
All the Senior Officers and Trustees have always worked voluntarily in addition to their ‘day jobs’ and as the Faculty has grown, business structure and governance processes have had to improve – as evidenced by a high-level audit required by charity and business law, which was completed last year.
We have dealt with a number of recommendations from the auditors including the development of a formal risk register with controls in place to mitigate risks to the Faculty. We have also engaged an external Data Protection Officer to ensure that the Faculty leads by example in terms of the management of members’ personal data.
We have recently agreed that the Senior Officers’ roles have become so onerous, and the importance of continuity and networking so crucial that the FFLM is now looking to recruit a Chief Executive Officer to lead us forward into a changing landscape of forensic and legal medicine. On reflection at the halfway point of my tenure, I realise that I have learned far more than I already knew through working with the Faculty, but it feels like we have made some good progress. I would definitely recommend the experience of being a Trustee/Senior Officer to anyone who was interested in leadership within the FFLM.
Treasurer
Dr Amy Hamm
MBChB DCH DLM MFFLM MRCPCH CMgr
Forensic Physician and Paediatrician
Amy trained at Liverpool University and qualified in 2006. After completing foundation years she worked in obstetrics and gynaecology for three years before changing specialty to paediatrics and working in acute general paediatrics in a unit that included level 2 neonates for seven years. Amy has completed her MRCPCH and is a member of the Royal College of Paediatrics.
Amy was introduced to forensic medicine in 2011 by Prof Ian Wall at Teesside University. She completed the FMERSA through St Mary’s SARC inspired by Cath White, Helena Thornton and Vicky Evans she developed a passion for excellent care of sexual offence victims. Amy went on to obtain her MFFLM. Since becoming a member Amy has been keen to assist the faculty she sits on the forensic science sub-committee, she is an examiner and an appraiser. Amy is passionate about provision of quality care and improving outcomes for victims of all ages. She is enthusiastic about raising standards through provision of quality teaching, training and development of forensic clinicians and partner agencies.
Academic Dean
Dr Deryn Evans
FFFLM MRCGP MBBS DLM DFFP DRCOG BSc (hons)
Forensic Physician
Deryn qualified from Guys and St Thomas’ medical school in 2001. She initially trained in General Practice before taking on the role of Forensic Physician for States of Jersey Police in 2015. She embraced the role and completed her membership, grateful for the support and education of the faculty. Deryn is now the lead for the service in Jersey and Clinical Director of the local SARC. She enjoys training and has recently become an examiner for the faculty. Deryn does some expert work locally and still works as a GP for homeless and vulnerable adults. Deryn also works as a GP appraiser and a medical referee.
Deryn is passionate about equality of care and trauma-informed practice.
When not working, Deryn enjoys spending time with her family and her two black Labradors.
Assistant Registrar
Dr Anton van Dellen
MBBCh, MA (Law), LLM, DPhil
Barrister and Assistant Coroner
Dr Anton van Dellen is a barrister at Fraser Chambers, specialising in defamation, public and commercial law. Anton also sits as an Assistant Coroner in West London. He has a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBBCh) from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg; a Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil) in Physiology from the University of Oxford; a Master of Arts in Law from the University of Cambridge; and a Masters of Law (LLM) from BPP. The subject of his LLM was expert witness liability. Anton was a registrar in neurosurgery before becoming a Fellow at Christ Church, University of Oxford. He also held several senior management posts in the NHS. Anton is an advocacy trainer for Inner Temple, is a member of Inner Temple’s Bar Liaison Committee and sits on Inner Temple’s Executive, Finance and Investment Committees. He is also an elected member of the Bar Council, is Vice-Chair of the Bar Council’s Legal Services Committee and sits on the Education and Training Committee. He was awarded a Princess Royal Scholarship from Inner Temple and was a Rhodes Scholar at the University of Oxford.
Vice President Forensic Medicine
Dr Libby Sevink
BMBS DLM MFFLM
Forensic Physician (General Forensic Medicine and Sexual Offence Medicine)
Libby graduated from Peninsula Medical School in 2008. After a career as a Medical Officer in the RAF, she was keen to continue to explore medicine in more unconventional environments.
She discovered Forensic Medicine in 2016 and worked in Police Custody for until 2023 progressing to become Clinical Lead for Custody. She was concurrently working as a Sexual Offences Examiner and joined the Devon and Cornwall Paediatric SARC in 2021 where she continues to work as their Training Lead.
She has worked closely with partner agencies to develop and implement policies to improve outcomes for vulnerable patients and is passionate about maintaining high standards of care in the challenging environments of Custody and SARC.
She also delivers training to clinicians embarking on their career in Forensic Medicine as well as Police Officers and other Healthcare Specialties.
Having obtained her Membership of the FFLM in Sexual Offences Medicine she became an examiner and was inspired by colleagues to become more involved with the Faculty and their work to maintain and improve standards in Forensic Medicine.
Not wanting to leave General Forensic Medicine behind she also obtained her FFLM Membership by examination for GFM and has recently been appointed Clinical Lead for the Devon and Cornwall Police, Clinical Governance Team.
Vice President Allied Healthcare Professionals
Ms Stacey Day
LFFLM
Nurse Clinical Lead & Vice-President for Allied Healthcare Professionals
Stacey is a nurse clinical lead and contract and partnership manager within Cleveland Police, this is where she began her forensic career in 2015. Qualifying with a BSc (HONS) in nursing in 2010 Stacey quickly gained experience within the healthcare field and went on to undertake further advanced clinical skills, disease management and non-medical prescribing qualifications.
Through a twist of fate, she found herself working as a senior healthcare practitioner in the niche area of forensic healthcare, not exclusively working within custody as Stacey is a dual trained examiner for both general forensics and sexual assault victims. After gaining further experience Stacey entered teaching, delivering various aspects of forensic topics across multiple Police Forces within the United Kingdom. While maintaining her competencies within custody, training gave her a wide breadth of knowledge and allowed her to pass on the skills she had developed. Gaining her Licentiate qualification over 3 years ago, alongside studying for her master’s degree in general forensic healthcare sparked her passion to give healthcare professionals and affiliate colleagues a voice within forensics.
Since becoming a Licentiate member in 2020 Stacey has worked alongside Professor Rix as the associate lead for mental health and intellectual disabilities. This enabled Stacey to dedicate time to tackling some of the complex issues presented within a modern forensic setting, advocating and raising awareness around mental health and intellectual disabilities. She now hopes that as the Vice-President for Allied Healthcare Professionals, she can dedicate some time to giving forensic practitioners of varying professions a voice in order to tackle the everyday issues faced within the forensic setting.
Vice President Legal Medicine
Dr Elaine Cook
I have worked for Medical Protection Society (Dental Protection) since September 2014 as a full-time Dentolegal Consultant.
I have a background as a General Dental Practitioner within the Armed Forces: the Royal Army Dental Corps for five years and then the Royal Air Force for 16 1/2 years. I currently still work in private practice on a sessional basis and I am the Senior Dental Officer on 4626 Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron within the Royal Air Force Reserves, responsible for the training and career management of all Reserve Dental Officers and Dental Nurses.
I have undertaken further postgraduate training in both dentistry and law.
I have a keen interest in Forensic Odontology and I am currently going through the BAFO Mentoring Programme and participate in a Dental Forensic Team on-call rota for the UK.
I regularly present talks and webinars to dental practitioners and dental care professionals both face to face and more recently remotely due to the Covid-19 pandemic and had a number of articles on various dental subjects published in the dental journals.
I live in rural Lincolnshire and I am kept very busy by my four rescue spaniels