You may or may not have seen the decision on the BP v Surrey County Council case discussing contact with loved ones during the coronavirus pandemic. If you haven’t seen it, it is here https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCOP/2020/17.html This raised an issue that had been nagging me, and I alluded to it in my previous posts about careContinue reading “Contacting loved ones in the new age”
Category Archives: Care Act 2014
When guidance isn’t really guidance
Is it just me, or does the guidance on the Care Act easements seem a bit, well, vague?! If you haven’t seen it, it is here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-changes-to-the-care-act-2014/care-act-easements-guidance-for-local-authorities Now this might just be my bitterness, because I have been working flat out to get some Covid FAQs out for my local authority, and I had toContinue reading “When guidance isn’t really guidance”
Case study: an update
It seems a few of you have been reading my case study about the difficulties of enforcing the social distancing guidance and regulations. It’s testament to how little guidance there is on this issue that my little blog is getting so many hits. I’m grateful and mildly intimidated. So I thought I would provide youContinue reading “Case study: an update”
Summary of the proposed measures to support health and social care during the pandemic
I promised I would share guidance as I come across it. The latest proposals for emergency legislation are summarised here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-bill-what-it-will-do/what-the-coronavirus-bill-will-do I have to say, as short term measures, a lot of this sounds sensible and pragmatic. Suggesting delays to continuing healthcare assessments did give me pause, simply because I can’t imagine that process becomingContinue reading “Summary of the proposed measures to support health and social care during the pandemic”
It begins… COVID-19 is starting to bring everything to a grinding halt
I, like many of you, I am sure, have been monitoring the updates as to advice and guidance on how to deal with the pandemic referred to as ‘coronavirus’. I had lengthy discussions with local authority colleagues on what this means from a DoLS perspective on Friday. To complete assessments for DoLS purposes assessors areContinue reading “It begins… COVID-19 is starting to bring everything to a grinding halt”
Ordinary residence: in more detail
Because nothing is ever quite as simple as it seems, let’s now take a look at the types of situation where things get complicated and where a dispute arises as to ordinary residence. I will start by saying that a lot of disputes start because one authority, or both, is misunderstanding the basic provisions discussedContinue reading “Ordinary residence: in more detail”
Ordinary residence: an introduction
No witty title for this one I am afraid. Instead I am going to get right to the point because this is a concept that many practitioners struggle with. It is also a big growth area in my work now that budget cuts are requiring increased scrutiny of every funding decision and allocation of resources.Continue reading “Ordinary residence: an introduction”
Evidence or assumption?
A few months ago I attended a very helpful conference on the Mental Capacity Act 2005 arranged by Switalskis solicitors. Its an annual event, but it was the first time I managed to persuade my employers to pay for some tickets. Amongst the many illuminating talks I attended, the one that stuck with me theContinue reading “Evidence or assumption?”
But first, some basics…
My role involves primarily dealing with 3 pieces of legislation: Mental Health Act 1983; Mental Capacity Act 2005 and Care Act 2014. I am going to attempt to summarise the key bits of these pieces of legislation insofar as they relate to core adult social care local authority work for you, in case you readContinue reading “But first, some basics…”