Third Party Instructions – Assessments and related activities
Last updated: 2/9/2022
The Psychology Clinic of East Anglia Ltd (PCEA) provides administrative and professional support services for Psychologists instructed to carry out assessments and related activities (such as attendance at court, professionals’ meetings, etc.) of families and individuals by third party entities such as the Courts and Local Authorities.
While the individual, instructed Psychologist is responsible for the professional opinions expressed in their reports and answerable to the instructing body and their own regulatory body, we at PCEA are committed to providing the highest standards of support and service to ensure that the instructed Psychologist’s work is facilitated professionally, and all are treated fairly and with courtesy in any dealings with our organisation.
If you have disagreements or concerns relating to the contents and findings of the Psychologist’s assessment and report, and there is an ongoing process such as legal proceedings, the first point of call should be to discuss your concerns with your representative so they can advise on the best way to address them.
Should any individual or organisation believe that we at PCEA have fallen below the expected standards then a complaint can be raised via email to the Managing Director, Dr Stewart Long who will look to provide an initial response within 1 week. We will consider any complaints and attempt to find a solution and/or take on board comments to improve future performance. If our initial response is not considered satisfactory by the complainant then, if appropriate, a more in-depth investigation will be carried out which may take up to 28 days. The complainant will be kept abreast of this process regularly.
If there are any concerns about our use of individuals’ personal information, please refer to our Privacy Notice, which is available on request, for details of our data protection policies and how to make a complaint in that regard.
If a complaint is specifically in regard to the professional conduct or findings of the instructed Psychologist or the contents of their report, then we will raise this concern with them and provide a response as above. We will also make the instructing body aware of the complaint in line with our legal obligations (for example, informing the Lead Solicitor of all third party communications). However, please note that PCEA cannot influence or affect the findings or opinions of the instructed Psychologist. Practitioner Psychologists carrying out this work are subject to codes of conduct and professional standards as follows (individual membership details are available on request):
Health & Care Professionals Council – https://www.hcpc-uk.org/standards/.
As set out above, it may be that questions and concerns about an instructed Psychologist’s assessment findings are best addressed via the pertaining legal (or other) process or instructing organisation. Nevertheless, formal complaints in regard to Psychologists’ professional conduct can be made via their professional body (HCPC – https://www.hcpc-uk.org/).