Dr Ben Lucas

Speciality
Consultant in Offender Care – General Adult Psychiatry
NHS Practice
Feltham Young Offenders Institute, Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust
Private Practice
Phoenix Mental Health Services
GMC no.
3251593

Qualifications
BA, MA (Cantab) Psychology, MB BS, FRCPsych, CCST in General Adult Psychiatry, Diploma in Legal Medicine.

Accreditation
Approved Clinician status, including approval under section 12(2), of the Mental Health Act 1983.

Memberships
British Medical Association, Medical Defence Union, and the Royal College of Psychiatrists

Areas of expertise
Mental Illness, Personality Disorder, Alcohol and Drug Misuse, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Somatising disorders.

Foreign Languages Spoken
Hungarian

Biography
After undergraduate study at Cambridge University, I completed clinical training at The London Hospital Medical College, part of the University of London in 1987. After obligatory house officer posts, I worked in general medicine and A&E as a junior doctor. I then started specialist training as a psychiatrist at Guys and St Thomas Hospital and South East London. I obtained my MRCPsych qualification by examination in 1993. I then moved to North West London and undertook higher psychiatric training as a Specialist Registrar on the St Marys Higher Training Scheme, including a period of supervision with Professor Peter Tyrer. I obtained my Certification of Completion of Specialist Training in 1997 and have been on the GMC Specialist Register in General Psychiatry since then.

I was appointed as a consultant psychiatrist in Hillingdon in 1998 and worked there for 21years, I have led inpatient, day- patient and community mental health multidisciplinary teams.

From 2001-2006 I was Clinical Director for Adult Mental Health Services in Hillingdon leading on care quality and introducing consultant appraisal. I have been the supervisor for numerous general and higher psychiatric trainees.

From 2009 to 2018 I was the Caldicott Guardian for Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust and Consultant Lead for Clinical Systems from 2009 to 2016.

In 2010 I was granted Honorary Senior Lecturer status at Imperial College in recognition of my contribution to teaching medical students.

In 2015 I was awarded the Fellowship of the Royal College of Psychiatrists.

In 2017 I gained a Distinction by examination for the Diploma of Legal Medicine (Royal College of Physicians).

In 2018 I worked in New Zealand for a year as a full time Consultant in Forensic Psychiatry for the Midland Regional Forensic Psychiatric Service based in Hamilton, North Island.

In 2019 I worked part time in High Down Prison (Surrey) seeing men on remand and sentenced prisoners and since November 2020 I have worked as a at Feltham Young Offenders Institute (London), seeing both adolescent boys and young men age 18-21.

I have also undertaken medicolegal work on a part- time basis since 2019 and in 2020 I completed 25 reports for solicitors, courts and social services departments. I have recently reported on the following areas:

  • Family Proceedings involving impact of mental disorder on ability to parent and capacity to litigate
  • Criminal proceedings for adults including cases of rape, terrorist offences and grievous bodily harm on issues such as:
    • Fitness to plead and attend court
    • Psychiatric defence and factors influencing culpability and capacity to form criminal intent
    • Sentencing, including likely impact of custodial sentence on well-being and risk of reoffending
  • Inquests where adequacy of psychiatric care is raised.