The Act: Section by Section Section 3: Limitations on provision of forensic medical examinations
26.This section ensures that decisions about forensic medical examination are made on the basis of professional judgement. This means that the Act does not confer on individuals a right to have a forensic medical examination, a particular type of examination, or to have particular items of property taken and retained by health boards in self-referral cases.
27.There are a number of circumstances where a professional judgment might be made that a forensic medical examination, or certain parts of the full examination process, should not be carried out. For example, a forensic medical examination requires to be carried out sufficiently soon after the incident that there will still be evidence to gather.(11) This section ensures that a health board is not obliged to carry out an examination where a professional judgement is made that it is not appropriate to proceed with the examination or full examination for any reason. Professional judgement includes both clinical and non-clinical elements. It includes, for example, consideration of whether a person can consent to the examination, whether decisions need to be taken on a multi-agency basis and whether in the circumstances of the case it is in the public interest for a police report to be made. It is supported by guidance from the Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine (FFLM) and others. FFLM guidance covers matters including what non-sample evidence to retain in particular self-referral scenarios.