Contacting loved ones in the new age

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”

Maybe we should all learn to be a bit more ‘cat’

I confess that I am not exactly thriving under social distancing conditions. I am, of course, abiding by all of the restrictions in place but I am, like many of you, finding this a less than pleasant experience. I am used to working from home 2 days a week. Video and telephone conferencing are enablingContinue reading “Maybe we should all learn to be a bit more ‘cat’”

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”

Case study: a question with no clear answer

When I started this blog, I said I would provide you with case studies and practical examples of how social care law works in practice. I had in mind a few of my interesting Court cases when I first mused on this point. But then today happened. One of my philosophies for working as anContinue reading “Case study: a question with no clear answer”

Some more guidance for you

I could post here about the Court of Protection guidance, but since Alex Ruck-Keane has already shared it, I am just going to direct you to his post, in case you haven’t seen it: https://www.mentalcapacitylawandpolicy.org.uk/covid-19-court-of-protection-guidance/ He has also written about the available guidance on COVID-19 and the Mental Capacity Act 2005 here: https://www.mentalcapacitylawandpolicy.org.uk/covid-19-and-mca-first-guidance-out/ I haveContinue reading “Some more guidance for you”

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”

Quick mini update

I am pleased to report that my authority has upgraded its systems in light of COVID-19 and so the whole thing shouldn’t collapse when we all start working from home. My team have been advised to work from home as much as we can, but our offices remain open and we will all be droppingContinue reading “Quick mini update”

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”