Mrs Deon Bryan

Mrs Deon Bryan is a Clinical Lead within an Integrated Transfer of Care Team, a position she has held since 2020, and is an Occupational Therapy expert witness. Her principal areas of clinical expertise include complex rehabilitation, functional assessment, care of older people, dementia, frailty and orthopaedics, with particular expertise in managing complex physical, cognitive and social care needs.

Her practice spans community, unplanned care and inpatient settings, where she assesses the functional and environmental impact of illness, injury and disability. She has extensive experience undertaking physical, cognitive and psychiatric assessments, including home-based assessments and wheelchair and seating evaluations, and supporting rehabilitation following stroke, surgery and other complex conditions.

Mrs Bryan’s practice also encompasses equipment and adaptations, complex discharge planning, safeguarding and risk management. She has particular expertise in applying the Mental Capacity Act, Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards and best-interests principles to complex care decisions. Her work is multidisciplinary and person-centred, with a strong focus on identifying practical care and rehabilitation solutions that support safe and appropriate outcomes.

Mrs Deon Bryan has undertaken medico-legal work since 2004, providing Occupational Therapy expert opinion in clinical negligence and personal injury matters. She accepts instructions on behalf of claimants and defendants, as well as Single Joint Expert instructions.

Her medico-legal work includes screening and advisory opinion, breach of duty and causation, with particular expertise in assessing the functional impact of injury or illness. Her instructions draw on her expertise in rehabilitation, care needs, equipment and adaptations, functional assessment, capacity and best-interests decision-making. She is particularly well placed to consider cases involving complex physical, cognitive and social care needs, frailty, stroke, dementia and orthopaedic conditions. Mrs Bryan has experience preparing medico-legal reports and has completed Bond Solon courtroom preparation training.

Mrs Bryan’s current practice centres on assessing and managing people with complex physical, cognitive and social care needs, particularly where illness, injury or frailty affects independence and everyday functioning. Her work includes rehabilitation following stroke and surgery, alongside the management of patients with dementia, orthopaedic conditions and complex needs associated with ageing.

A key element of her practice is detailed functional and environmental assessment. She evaluates how an individual’s condition affects mobility, daily activities and their ability to function safely within their environment, including undertaking home-based, wheelchair and seating assessments. This informs recommendations for rehabilitation, equipment and adaptations, as well as planning for safe discharge and ongoing support.

Her work also involves safeguarding and risk management in complex cases, including consideration of mental capacity, Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards and best-interests decision-making. These areas are integrated into her wider multidisciplinary approach to rehabilitation and person-centred care.