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The dilemma of the forensic psychiatrist

Department of Forensic Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, London SE5 8AF

Jeanette Smith, Senior Registrar

Fromeside Clinic, Blackberry Hill, Bristol BS16 1ED

Forensic psychiatrists have particular ethical duties in relation to the protection of the public, which few other doctors have. Part of the fulfilment of that duty is the assessment of risk, upon which many ethical decisions rest. But comprehensive risk assessment may require information which is not available, leaving the forensic psychiatrist in a dilemma between her duty to the patient and to the public. This case history is based on a real case.