Medico-Legal Services

Dr Allder’s main clinical focus is traumatic brain injury (TBI), and functional neurological disorders (FND). With respect to TBI, Dr Allder provides a clinical and medicolegal services for the assessment of patients with TBI across the whole spectrum of injury severity i.e moderate – severe to mild; and across diverse aetiologies of TBI i.e. civilian, sport’s and military.

Recognition Health, are completing a 4 years collaboration with the Aston Brain Centre looking at the clinical utility of Magnetoencephalography (MEG) in TBI, especially mTBI where MRI including DTI is normal. This has been a successful collaboration which will lead to the development of several improved diagnostic tools for mild TBI . The collaboration has also led to further projects across a wide spectrum of TBI aetiologies, engaging new partnerships with Nottingham University, Toronto Sick kids, and several commercial organisations.

Since 2020, Dr Allder and Recognition Health have developed a new primary academic collaboration with King’s College Hospital. This joint work is exploring two complementary areas.  Firstly, the utility of more sophisticated MRI sequences to further enhance diagnostic and pathophysiological insights into mild TBI, especially sports related TBI. Secondly, we are exploring how deployment of state-of-the-art neuro-computational techniques can reveal the mechanisms underlying how structural injury from TBI creates the clinical profiles seen in these conditions. It is hoped this will lead to improved treatment strategies.

With respect to Functional Neurological Disorder Dr Allder has long standing interest and is a founding member of the FND Society. Dr Allder offers a clinical and medicolegal service for the assessment of patients with suspected FND. Dr Allder has a long-standing collaboration with Dr Leo Russell and Prof Allan Abbass, who are leading practitioners and researchers in a treatment modality for FND termed Intensive short-term dynamic psychotherapy (ISTDP). ISTDP is modality with a strong neuroscience rationale and empirical  evidence base supporting its effectiveness. Dr Russell has recently joined Recognition Health and is working with Dr Allder to enhance our clinical offering for this patient group and extend research into the mechanisms by with this treatment modality creates improvements for patients

Recent publications

Allder, S and MacSweeney, E. Recent developments in Neuro-Imaging for Traumatic Brain Injury. Journal of Personal Injury Law (in Press)

Russell, L., Abbass, A., Allder, S A Review of the Treatment of Functional Neurological Disorder with Intensive Short-term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP). Archives of Medical Psychology (submitted)

Allder S, Post Traumatic Pain – A Neurological Perspective. Pain News (in press)

Bigler & Allder  Traumatic Brain Injury, Neural Networks and Neuroimaging: Practical Approaches for the Neurorehabilitation Clinician. NeuroRehabilitation (in press)

Bigler, E. D., & Allder, S. (2021). Neuroimaging in functional outcome. N.Y.: Springer.

Hall M, Allder S and Furlong P. Resting state and task induced oscillations in chronic post-concussion syndrome: A pilot study. 21st International Conference on Biomagnetism (BIOMAG), Philadelphia, PA, USA, August 26-30, 2018

Russell, L., Abbass, A., Allder, S. and Noborsky, R., Applying intensive short-term dynamic psychotherapy to the treatment of medically unexplained symptoms: integrating theories of cause and theories of change, Archives of Medical Psychology, August 2017 (Volume 9, Issue 1), 1-24.

Russell, L.A., Abbass, A.A., Allder, S.J., A pilot study of reduction in healthcare costs following the application of intensive short-term dynamic psychotherapy for psychogenic nonepileptic seizures, Epilepsy & Behaviour 63 (2016) 17-19.

Education

He trained in Nottingham in general medicine and carried out his specialist neurology training at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Dr Allder’s main interests are the management of acute neurological emergencies, in particular cerebrovascular disease and traumatic brain injury. Dr Allder ran a general neurology outpatient practice during his NHS work and had specific sub-specialist interest in neuro-otology (assessment of dizzy patients), neurological pain syndromes and medically unexplained symptoms.

She is experienced in completing complex assessments for patients with multiple mental and physical illnesses. An area of special interest is cognitive impairment which may be due to dementia, delirium, or brain injury. She regularly undertakes mental capacity assessments and medicolegal reports.

Throughout her career, she has had major roles in postgraduate training for doctors specialising in psychiatry. She managed a large training programme, was an examiner for The Royal College of Psychiatrists, and a member of several of their committees.

She is an approved section 12 assessor for the Mental Health Act.

Associations

General Medical Council full registration since 1982; Specialist Register for General Psychiatry and Old Age Psychiatry (1992); Revalidated to September 2024

Medical Protection Society (from 1981)

Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists (member from 1988, fellow from 2005)

British Medical Association (from 1981)

Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine (2012)

Published papers / Media

Rands, Gianetta (2018) Women’s Voices in Psychiatry; A collection of Essays, Oxford University Press ISBN 978-0-19-878548-4

Women in UK Psychiatry and Mental Health by Gianetta Rands, pages 137-151 in “Mind, State, and Society: Social History of Psychiatry and Mental Health in Britain 1960-2010” edited by George Ikkos & Nick Bouras (2021) published by Cambridge University Press

DOI 10.1017/9781911623793

Rands G, McCabe T, Imray C (2020) Post-flight Confusion: does flying affect the brain? Special Paper. BJPsych International, 17.3, 1-4. Link to this article: http://ow.ly/G2fQ50EPkTm 

RCPsychiatry Webinar “Where were the women?” February 2021.

RCPsych Webinar Helen Boyle; 27th May 2021 Link to this recording:
https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/improving-care/ccqi/quality-networks-accreditation/prison-mental-health-services/qnpmhs-webinars/dr-helen-boyle-our-first-woman-president-180th-anniversary-webinar-27-may-2021

Podcast: Does Flying affect the brain?
Published June 2021. Link to this podcast: https://soundcloud.com/bjpsych/bji-2020-1

G.Rands and Orrell, M “Aspirin for Vascular Dementia” Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews; first published 2000, 4 reviews; PB: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd; latest edition November 2012.

Education

Dr Rands was educated at Oxford University and the Royal Free Hospital Medical School, London.

Throughout her career she has had major roles in postgraduate training, as Membership examiner, and on several Committees of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. These continue as she develops her private practice and medicolegal work.

Qualifications

M.A.(Oxon) PPP/Experimental Psychology, 1976

MB.BS. (Royal Free, London) 1981

MRCPsychiatry 1988, 

FRCPsychiatry, 2005

MRCGP, 1985

DRCOG and JCC certificate, 1983

Education

Dr Towgood was awarded her BPsych (1st Class Honours) from Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia before completing her PhD and Clini-cal Psychology Training at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. She is an experienced researcher having completed post-doctoral posts with world leading experts at the ICN, University College London, and the IOP, Kings College London. Dr Towgood’s research interests include individual case study approaches to profiling neuropsychological conditions and assessment of memory using fMRI in neurological conditions. She has presented her work at a number of international conferences and in journal articles and has received awards for her research contributions.

Dr Sekhar is employed as Consultant Neurologist with Walton Centre NHS Foundation trust Liverpool for last 7 years. He is also visiting stroke neurologist at Aintree University NHS Foundation Trust and Countess of Chester NHS Foundation Trust. His day to day work mainly involves direct clinical care for all aspects of general neurology including stroke & epilepsy. He is the trust clinical lead for stroke thrombectomy service. His pioneering work was setting up the stroke thrombectomy service at Walton Centre which now serves the whole of the Cheshire & Merseyside.

He is the deputy lead for hyper acute stroke research centre (HSRC) at Cheshire & Merseyside which is NIHR funded. His research interest is in acute stroke treatments including thrombolysis and thrombectomy.

He serves on the stroke advisory group at association of British Neurology (ABN).

He is the regional advisor for Royal College of Physician Edinburgh and involved in promoting education and fellowship of the College.

He is the honorary senior lecturer for Liverpool Medical school and involved in medical student teaching.

Private & Medicolegal work

He is empanelled as medicolegal expert with Re-cognition Health 77 Wimpole Street, London and takes instruction for both clinical negligence and brain injury cases.

He is available to see medicolegal client on prior arrangements at London Clinics.

Dr Sekhar has privileges and rights at Spire Liverpool and Murrayfield hospitals for private clinical and medicolegal consultations.

He is on Medicolegal practice for last 5 years and has taken instructions from several law firms in the Country mainly on behalf of the claimant. His medicolegal interests are mainly around stroke and all aspect of vascular neurological injuries and he is now expanding on brain injury cases.

Education

Dr Sekhar has completed his specialist training in Neurology & stroke in 2012 in Southwest of England. He has dual accreditation for Neurology & Stroke and is on general medical council specialist register.

He had extensive training in all aspect of neurology & stroke and is well published in the field.

He is the peer reviewer for several medical journals and was reviewer of the year for Elsevier publishing last year.

In 2002 Dr Philip Paul Nichols was appointed as a Department of Health Clinician Scientist a post which ran concurrently with his appointment as Honorary Consultant Neurologist and Senior Lecturer in Neurology at the Department of Neurology, Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle Upon Tyne & Institute of Cellular Medicine, The Medical School, Newcastle University, until 2013.  During this appointment Dr Nichols ran a general neurology outpatient and inpatient pr actice as well as pursuing a sub-specialist interest in brain white matter disease, in particular, multiple sclerosis.  He was appointed a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (FRCP) in 2010.

Dr Nichols is currently working at Re:Cognition Health, using his clinical expertise to focus on the assessment of patients with traumatic brain injury.

Education

Dr Nichols is a Consultant Neurologist.  He qualified with first class honours from Newcastle University Medical School (1991) and trained in general medicine in London (MRCP 1994) before completing an MRC Clinical Research Fellowship at Oxford University (DPhil, St John’s 2001).  He completed his specialist neurology training at the Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford and on the Northern Deanery neurology rotation (Newcastle Hospitals NHS Trust) gaining specialist registration in 2002.

Education

Dr Butler first became a consultant neuroradiologist in January 1986. He has been director of imaging at King Edward VII Hospital, a private hospital in London, since 2004.

Education

Dr Paul Butler graduated from Westminster in 1976.

Dr Ferrin has been providing tailored medical treatments and non-pharmacological approaches including CBT and psychoeducation to these patients and their families.

Dr Ferrin has published more than 40 international peer-reviewed articles and book chapters in the field of child psychiatry. She is part of the steering committee of the Continuum ADHD Project, an expert-led pan-European educational initiative in the ADHD field. Dr Ferrin is also one of the few UK members of the Eunethydis Group (European Network for Hyperkinetic Disorders) and the European ADHD Guidelines Group (EAGG), independent international leading groups with special clinical and research interest in the ADHD/ADD field

Education

Dr Ferrin graduated from University of Navarre (Spain) in 2001 and subsequently completed her training in General Psychiatry in Pamplona, Spain, and then undertook specialist fellowship training in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the Imperial College in London. In 2005-2006 Dr Ferrin completed her MSc training in Child and Adolescent Mental Health at the Institute of Psychiatry, King´s College London. In 2010 she completed her European PhD in Neurosciences at the University of Granada/King´s College London, and she was qualified with the prestigious Cum Laude (equivalent to Distinction grade). During these years Dr Ferrin continued working as CAMHS Consultant Psychiatry, specialising in diagnosis and treatment of ADHD/ASD and comorbid conditions throughout the lifespan.

Dr Ferrin is Honorary Clinical Lecturer at the Brain and Behaviour Laboratory, at the University of Southampton

He has been running memory clinics at Charing Cross Hospital in London since 2005 and specialises in early diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.

Education

Dr Perry completed his medical degree at the medical college of St Bartholomew’s Hospital in 1990. His specialist experience in memory disorders and dementia was gained in Cambridge from 1995 to 1999 and in San Francisco from 1999 to 2000.

Dr Stefania Bruno is a Consultant Neuropsychiatrist with extensive experience in cognitive disorders, acquired brain injuries and movement disorders (Parkinson’s Disease, Huntington’s Disease, Tourette’s Syndrome). As well as working for Re:cognition Health, she is Lead Clinician and Medical Director of a NHSE-funded tertiary care neuro-rehabilitation service for patients with acquired brain injuries (trauma, encephalitis, stroke, hypoxic brain injury, multiple sclerosis, etc) and she is a member of the Pan London specialist rehabilitation collaborative.

Her research has focused on the application of advanced neuroimaging techniques to the study of cognitive deficits in mood disorders and to the early detection of Alzheimer’s disease. She has a visiting appointment at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (King’s College London). She has written over forty peer-reviewed articles and co-authored two book chapters in neuroimaging books and a chapter of the Oxford Textbook of Neuropsychiatry.

Education

Dr Bruno obtained a first-class medical degree with honours in 1995 with a thesis on cognitive functions of the cerebellum. She carried out her post-graduate education at University College London (UCL) and at the Maudsley Hospital. Throughout her post-graduate training, and as a clinical research fellow, she spent over a decade at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in Queen Square, where she acquired a very robust experience in the diagnosis and management of most neuropsychiatric disorders. She also held a previous consultant post at the Burden Centre in Bristol, where she acquired a lot of experience in sleep disorders and epilepsy.

She has a PhD in advanced neuroimaging from the Institute of Neurology (UCL) with a thesis with title: “Magnetisation transfer imaging, diffusion tensor imaging and voxel-based morphometry in bipolar disorder”.

Areas of Expertise (conditions):

Emergency care, acute care, head injuries, concussion,
sports injuries, musculoskeletal injuries, cognitive behavioural therapy

Career History:

Dr Terence McLoughlin is an experienced fellowship trained Emergency
Medicine Consultant with an interest in clinical research, concussion, and cognitive
behavioural therapy. His areas of expertise include all aspects of emergency care, acute
care, concussion, sport and musculoskeletal injuries, trauma, and psychology.

He graduated from Sheffield Medical School in 2010, carrying out his foundation training in
London and specialist emergency medicine training in the Northwest of England. He has
been an Emergency Medicine Consultant at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital since
2018. He is Liverpool University Hospitals Foundation Trust’s Deputy Director of Research
and Sepsis lead for the Emergency Department. Dr McLoughlin has an advanced Diploma in
Cognitive Behavioural therapy, with experience in supporting over 200 colleagues and
patients on the front line during the COVID-19 pandemic and contributing to a White Paper
for the Government regarding the mental health of staff and patients during this time.

Associations:

Dr McLoughlin is a Fellow of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine. He is
also a Council member of the Royal Society of Medicine Emergency section with the current
role of Secretary in 2022/23 and will commence the role of President Elect in 2023/24. He is
a course Director & Instructor for Advanced Life Support, an Instructor for Advanced
Paediatric Life Support and an Instructor for Prehospital Emergency Resuscitative
Thoracotomy at the Royal College of Surgeons of England.

Published papers / Media:

Dr McLoughlin has vast experience dealing with musculoskeletal
injuries and concussion and has worked with several Professional Sports teams;
Northampton Saints RFC, Sale Sharks RFC, and Barbarians RUFC. He has worked at both the
Rugby World Cup and Commonwealth Games. He has worked for the British Judo
Association and is currently working for the British Horse Racing Authority as a medical
doctor. He is a Panel Expert for Sports Concussion, Love of The Game Charity medical
advisor and was part of the England Rugby Football Union Psychiatry team in 2008 with Dr

Steve Peters. He has also worked for Sports & Entertainment promoters in the capacity of
medical doctor for shows namely WWE and appeared on the BBC’s ‘Hospital’ series.

Dr McLoughlin has contributed to various research studies and medical books throughout
his career, completed the scholarship programme of the National Institute of Health and is
an Honorary Clinical Lecturer for Liverpool John Moores University.
Current research interests include head injuries and concussion, Principal Investigator for
Distal Radius Acute Fracture Trial (DRAFT3) , The Life Course Biorepository for Neurology
and Mental Health project and Pre-hospitAl Randomised trial of MEDICation route in out of
hospital cardiac arrest (PARAMEDIC3). He is also Co-Investigator for Remote Follow-up and
Evaluation of Recovery in mild Traumatic Brain Injury (REFER mTBI), Randomised Trial of
Timing to Restart Direct Oral Anticoagulants after Traumatic Intracranial Haemorrhage
(RESTART) and PROcalcitonin and NEWS2 evaluation for Timely identification of sepsis and
Optimal use of antibiotics in the Emergency Department (PRONTO).

Education

Education: BSc.(hon), MBChB (Sheffield), MRCEM, FRCEM, DipACBT