Enter the weird and wonderful world of adult social care law with me.
- Discussing care plans within court proceedings: part 2 – the nitty gritty
- Discussing care plans within court proceedings: part 1 – the broad brush
- Office conversations on accessible information
- Just a quick update
- Reflections on informed consent
A Bit About Me
I’m a solicitor with a first class law degree (I know, swot) with more than 8 years experience in local authority. In that time I have worked in a number of areas, but my main focus has been adult social care. This means for the last few years, my job has been about 50% legal work and the other 50% a combination of emotional support to stressed and/or panicked social workers; wading through the bureaucracy that is local authority internal governance and sitting in project meetings (because local authorities love a project meeting). I’ve come across a variety of issues, and seen where the current systems do and don’t work, as well as the impact that cuts to funding are having on the front line.
About This Blog
If you are looking for academic articles you can cite in your research, this isn’t the place for you. I am in the thick of it every day and my clients don’t want a 10 page essay. So here I will get straight to the point in my very un-lawyer-like way (I apologise now to all my university lecturers).
A Word of Warning
I can’t give legal advice on specific cases, so reading this isn’t a substitute for obtaining proper legal advice. I’m just your friendly neighbourhood adult social care lawyer offering some insight and, hopefully, a bit of support to my fellow explorers navigating the world of adult social care law.
If you are looking for a solicitor, head to the Law Society’s find a solicitor page, accessible using all good search engines.
In case it wasn’t clear from the fact I have not identified the authority I work for, the views expressed on this blog are my own, and do not represent the views of my employers.
Why I Write This Blog
I made my mind up when I was young that law was the career for me, something to do with Dylan McDermott’s very charming character in Miracle on 34th Street, I think. But I also knew I wanted to be helping people (saving Santa anyone?) and whilst local authority isn’t where I thought I’d be when I applied to Uni and I didn’t even know it was possible to specialise in adult social care when I graduated, I am (some would say annoyingly) passionate about what I do.
I spend every day in a minefield where politics meets human rights, where public law faces budget cuts and where the decisions made have real and significant consequences for the truly vulnerable in our society.
I’m not here to put down my local authority colleagues. I know what we are dealing with, I am in the trenches with them, so to speak. But let’s think on the big issues together, and maybe help each other out a bit along the way.
If you are still with me guys, then come on down the rabbit hole.
On this blog
- Audience participation
- Care Act 2014
- Coming up
- court of protection
- Human Rights Act
- inherent jurisdiction
- Just for fun
- Mental Capacity Act
- Mental Health Act
- Ordinary residence
- Uncategorized
- Ways of working
All work and no play assessment of need Basics Best interests Care Act care and support decisions care and support plans careers care homes Case studies case update Cat critic challenging behaviour coronavirus court hearings court of protection court process COVID-19 Day in the life of Deprivation of liberty deprivation of liberty safeguards DoLS guidance hospital discharge human rights latest guidance law law in practice lawyers legal processes Liberty Protection Safeguards Mental Capacity Act Mental Health Act mental health at work Ordinary residence professionals report writing s21A proceedings social care social care assessment social care funding team work training and support wider context witness statements