In October 2024, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) published its latest report on ‘The state of health care and adult social care in England 2023/24’.…
NHS Digital has published DoLS statistics for the period April 2023 to March 2024. Sadly, the data is not surprising, with ongoing backlogs and delays…
Age UK has published a report expressing concerns about the way Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards is being enacted in England and Wales. The report calls…
Under Article 5 of the Human Rights Act, every person has the right to liberty and security. However, there are certain circumstances in which it may be necessary to deprive/restrict someone of their liberty in order to protect them should they not have the capacity to consent to their treatment or care at a specific placement.
The Code of Practice for DoLS (2008) directs that wherever possible, DoLS authorisations should be applied for in advance of a hospital or care home admission, in order to ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place from day one. As such, a DoLS application should really be made at the point where the individual is assessed prior to admittance, in order that the application be processed in time.
The role and responsibilities of the Supervisory Body are outlined in the Code of Practice for DoLS (2008). In England the SB is most commonly the Local Authority, but could also be the Primary Care Trust. Meanwhile in Wales the SB will be either the Local Health Board or Welsh Ministers.
Under DoLS, the Managing Authority (MA) is the nursing/care home or hospital providing (or going to provide) care and treatment for the relevant person. The responsibilities of the MA are outlined within the Code of Practice for DoLS (2008) and expanded on through Court of Protection (CoP) case law.
These documents require that the Managing Authority carry out its responsibilities with due care and diligence, with appropriate consultation. All decisions and actions taken should be fully documented as part of professional best practice.
Legal terminology can often be confusing and hard to understand. In this blog, we explain some of the key terms and roles related to the…
NHS Digital has published national statistics for DoLS cases for the period April 2022 to March 2023. The report reveals that:
In Mental Capacity law, a rule 1.2 representative (or ‘1.2 rep’) performs a similar role to a Relevant Person’s Representative (RPR), but in a community setting.
The process for assigning a 1.2 rep is slightly different to that of an RPR. This is because community DoLS authorisations are authorised through the Court of Protection, and not by the Local Authority DoLS office, as is the case in hospital and care home settings. And so a 1.2 rep will be identified and allocated through this process by those applying and agreed by the Court.