The inherent jurisdiction of the High Court: the regular red herring

I covered the basics of what the inherent jurisdiction is about in my previous post here. What this post will discuss is the reasons why it doesn’t provide a solution in the vast majority of cases. The first issue that presents is obtaining sufficient evidence to make a case to begin with. The type ofContinue reading “The inherent jurisdiction of the High Court: the regular red herring”

Supporting hospital discharge: Discharge to Assess part 1

This should really have been the first in my hospital discharge series, this being the most far-reaching of the policies I have explored. But its taken me a while to order my thoughts on this, and I’ve ended up breaking this into two posts. In this one, I’m going to talk ‘broad brush’ principles andContinue reading “Supporting hospital discharge: Discharge to Assess part 1”

A return to the problem of ‘unco-operative patients’

I have written before about the difficulties I have encountered in practice in relation to individuals who do not co-operate with those trying to provide care and support. It’s causing particular issues with one of my cases this week, so I thought I would share. UP has a diagnosis of Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder andContinue reading “A return to the problem of ‘unco-operative patients’”

Court process: displacement of nearest relative – part 3 obtaining the order and what happens after that

This post discusses the process after an application has been made to displace and/or appoint a nearest relative in the county court. Details on how to get to that point and in my previous posts. So, the legal representative will send the part 8 claim form, a draft order and the evidence provided by theContinue reading “Court process: displacement of nearest relative – part 3 obtaining the order and what happens after that”

Court process: displacement of nearest relative – part 2 making the application

This is the second post in this series. If you haven’t seen it, it’s available here. So what happens after the AMHP has spoken to the legal team and its been agreed that a displacement, or appointment, of a nearest relative is needed? Well, let me tell you. In my authority, as I’m sure inContinue reading “Court process: displacement of nearest relative – part 2 making the application”

Court process: displacement of nearest relative – part 1 identifying the need for displacement/appointment

I am sure that any of you who are AMHP trained are familiar with the provisions of S29 Mental Health Act 1983 that enable the county court to displace a nearest relative and appoint someone to act as nearest relative in their place. But unless you have done this before, or have received some practicalContinue reading “Court process: displacement of nearest relative – part 1 identifying the need for displacement/appointment”

Spot the difference: The need for precision in capacity assessments

I wrote previously about the importance of evidence and not making assumptions here. It’s something I have been thinking about again, in the context of some work I was involved with over the last few weeks. Because I was involved with 2 cases with very different facts, but raising a central issue around assessing capacityContinue reading “Spot the difference: The need for precision in capacity assessments”

Let’s talk about court process – bonus: remote hearings

It occurred to me, helping one of my social workers prepare for a video hearing today, how little information about what actually happens in a remote hearing is available to anyone not ‘in the know’ with the court. So I thought I would add my thoughts, in the hope it might help some of you.Continue reading “Let’s talk about court process – bonus: remote hearings”

When everything hinges on a capacity assessment

I want to talk to you today about an issue that I am coming up against more and more at the moment in my day to day practice. Let’s refer to it as the ‘unco-operative patient’ issue. I am finding this to be a particular issue in personality disorder cases, where mental illness and personalityContinue reading “When everything hinges on a capacity assessment”

Sometimes the pieces don’t fit together

I started off with high hopes for today. I set myself a manageable list of tasks and intended to finish early and recalibrate myself after a fairly jarring return to the office. How foolish was I? And instead I am left feeling utterly deflated and quite demoralised, having spent most of my day trying toContinue reading “Sometimes the pieces don’t fit together”