I recently had a lengthy stay in hospital. The reason for that stay isn’t particularly important. But it provided an interesting opportunity to observe the implementation of the legal frameworks I work in, on the frontline. Let’s start with privacy Medical professionals are very keen on privacy. They talk about patient confidentiality a lot. EvenContinue reading “An inpatient hospital stay – the gulf between the textbooks and the real world”
Tag Archives: care and support decisions
Anticipatory declarations: a pragmatic view
You may or may not have read some of the reports about the Leicestershire case in which the court confirmed it does have jurisdiction to make anticipatory declarations. Such declarations are generally sought in situations where P has capacity at the relevant time, but a loss of capacity is expected and there is a needContinue reading “Anticipatory declarations: a pragmatic view”
Will the hearing be vacated? Too many variables to factor in
I’m regularly asked if hearings are going to go ahead many weeks before that hearing is listed. And I’m often surprised that people don’t understand why it is too soon to give any answer that isn’t “yes”. So I’m going to explore that a bit. For anyone that is regularly involved in Court of ProtectionContinue reading “Will the hearing be vacated? Too many variables to factor in”
I don’t think you really thought this through. Proceedings so ill-conceived it’s painful
I am prone to overthinking, so I tend to spend a lot of time thinking about what other parties to any particular case might be thinking and planning, identifying what advice I might give them, and strategizing accordingly. But this case really has me stumped. So today’s post is based on a current case ofContinue reading “I don’t think you really thought this through. Proceedings so ill-conceived it’s painful”
Making the public body’s point for them: what not to do as a family member in the Court of Protection – part 2
In my last post, I gave an example of S and T. S is the subject of Court of Protection proceedings and T, her mother, does not agree with the decisions being made by professionals and wants S to move to a different placement. In that scenario, T’s behaviour gave the judge little option butContinue reading “Making the public body’s point for them: what not to do as a family member in the Court of Protection – part 2”
Discussing care plans within court proceedings: part 2 – the nitty gritty
This is the follow up post to my last one on the topic of care planning discussions whilst Court of Protection proceedings are ongoing. You can read that post here. We’re not talking about Z today, but about U. U is in her 40s and has been diagnosed with a number of complex mental healthContinue reading “Discussing care plans within court proceedings: part 2 – the nitty gritty”
Discussing care plans within court proceedings: part 1 – the broad brush
I am surprised by how often with my job I find myself in a situation where everyone round the table has a different idea of what the court’s role is when discussing care planning. I am talking predominantly about cases where there is some kind of dispute about a care plan, for example, where thereContinue reading “Discussing care plans within court proceedings: part 1 – the broad brush”
Reflections on informed consent
This is an issue I’ve been thinking about recently. I’ve had some health issues of my own which have resulted in more interactions with medical professionals than I’d like. No offence is intended to medical professionals and I’m glad they’re there, it’s just that I very much prefer my life when I don’t need toContinue reading “Reflections on informed consent”
Refusal of care: when it’s not so simple
Today I want to talk about an issue that I have come across regularly in practice: individuals who are refusing care. The reason I am talking about this is that I have seen this concept misused by public authorities when this is convenient for them. I have a case at the moment where this isContinue reading “Refusal of care: when it’s not so simple”
About face: changing your position during Court of Protection proceedings part 3
This is the third post in a series about changing your mind during Court of Protection proceedings. If you’ve not read parts 1 and 2, feel free to do so. But I’ll briefly recap the scenario too. Essentially, my client was in a care home, suffering from dementia and objecting to her residence there. HerContinue reading “About face: changing your position during Court of Protection proceedings part 3”