I have been reading some of the posts by the wonderful Court Protection transparency project recently, and noticed that there was a number of them exploring the issue of contempt of court within Court of Protection proceedings. One of them in particular, commented on what appeared to be a significant difference between the consequences forContinue reading “Disparity of consequences: What happens if you don’t comply with a Court of Protection order? Part 1”
Tag Archives: Mental Capacity Act
An inpatient hospital stay – the gulf between the textbooks and the real world
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”
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”
Wishes and feelings statements: getting to know P
I am often asked by family members how the Official Solicitor and the court can make decisions about P without knowing them. More often than not, this is followed by comments about how they know P best so they should be able to make all of P’s decisions. That follow up is problematic, for aContinue reading “Wishes and feelings statements: getting to know P”
Reflections on language use: “deemed to have capacity”
This is probably me just being a little pedantic. But I have an issue with being told people are “deemed” to have capacity. Even more so they are “deemed” to lack capacity I think it’s mainly due to the lack of precision in the term “deem”. The dictionary definition of “deem” is “to have anContinue reading “Reflections on language use: “deemed to have capacity””
Making the public body’s point for them: what not to do as a family member in the Court of Protection – part 1
Despite the great work being done to improve transparency within the court of protection it is still largely misunderstood. Where this lack of understanding comes to the forefront, in my line of work anyway, is when P’s family members are parties to proceedings. For a variety of reasons, mainly due to the poor state ofContinue reading “Making the public body’s point for them: what not to do as a family member in the Court of Protection – part 1”
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”
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”