Consultant Psychiatrist, MD, MRCPsych
Dr Dave Barker is a highly experienced consultant psychiatrist with extensive expertise across nearly all core fields of adult psychiatry. With over 30 years of clinical experience, he has demonstrated proficiency in general adult, forensic, addiction, older adult, rehabilitation and neuropsychiatry. Dr Barker obtained his medical degree from the University of Southampton in 1991. He became a Member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists in 1996 and achieved the very prestigious award of Fellowship of the Royal College in November 2024 (FRCPsych).
Throughout his career, he has held various consultant roles, showcasing his versatility in adult psychiatry. Dr Barker’s comprehensive understanding of adult psychiatry is further enhanced by his academic pursuits, including holding two master’s degrees in the allied subjects of anthropology and philosophy, gained from the University College London and the University of Bristol respectively. He has published a number of scientific papers in major journals including the British Journal of Psychiatry and the Journal of the American Medical Association. In addition, Dr Barker is currently doing a PhD in philosophy of the mind at the University of Bristol.
Dr Barker has extensive medical leadership experience spanning over 15 years, including serving in a senior regional role with a major national healthcare company where he provided strategic medical leadership across an entire geographical region, overseeing clinical excellence, quality improvement initiatives including research, ensuring excellent recruitment and retention, and professional development programmes. His transformational leadership abilities were demonstrated when he successfully turned around a hospital in that region when he was Medical Director. He is a Member of the Faculty of Medical Leadership and Management, reflecting his commitment to advancing medical leadership standards and best practices across the healthcare sector.
Dr Barker is a highly experienced expert witness with specialist forensic psychiatry training, holding a Certificate of Completed Specialist Training (CCST) in Forensic Psychiatry since 2004 and registration on the General Medical Council Forensic Psychiatry Specialist Register. He has prepared over 100 medico-legal and court reports, providing expert testimony in Magistrates, County and Crown Courts on numerous occasions. His expertise extends to reports for the Parole Board, Crown Prosecution Service, and various civil and criminal cases including personal injury and employment tribunals. To maintain the highest standards, he has completed comprehensive Bond Solon training in most areas of Criminal and Civil Law. More recently his special interests have been related to neuropsychiatry cases.
Dr Barker is ADOS-2 and ADI-R trained for autism spectrum disorder assessments and has completed nearly 700 ASD assessments in the last year, consistently achieving 5-star ratings and excellent reviews throughout. He has also completed close to 100 ADHD assessments in that time, and maintains a special interest in all neurodiverse conditions, bringing this expertise to his former role as Responsible Clinician and Consultant within a neuropsychiatry rehabilitation hospital in the past year.
Dr Barker is one of the Training Directors within the Royal College of Psychiatrists. He is a Member of the Academy of Medical Educators, a Member of the Association for the Study of Medical Education, and a Member of the Royal Society of Medicine. He was awarded Medical Leader of the Year for a major national company in 2021.
