I am talking here specifically about the eligibility assessment for the purposes of granting a standard authorisation under the deprivation of liberty safeguards (commonly referred to as the DoLS scheme). In case you aren’t familiar with the DoLS scheme, I’ll give a brief overview. It is the mechanism by which deprivation of an individual’s libertyContinue reading “The DoLS eligiblity test: possible routes out of the mire”
Tag Archives: Mental Capacity Act
An example of when locking the door can be a sign of something much more troubling
I spoke before about why steps that family members take with good intentions can actually be a significant issue for social care practitioners to navigate. Shortly afterwards a judgement was published which demonstrated that issue very well for me. And it’s not that every instance of these measures always does turn out to be aContinue reading “An example of when locking the door can be a sign of something much more troubling”
Supporting hospital discharge: Discharge to Assess part 2
So a while ago, I said I would do another post on the Discharge to Assess operating model, focussing on the detail, after my last post looked at the broad principles. It has taken me some time to do for a few reasons. Firstly, because I am expecting revised guidance as the emergency covid fundingContinue reading “Supporting hospital discharge: Discharge to Assess part 2”
Knowing your chickens from your eggs: distinguishing best interests decisions from public law decisions…
…and why that matters This is an issue that comes up a lot, and I have covered it in any number of training sessions I have led with practitioners and lawyers. So I am hoping that this will be useful to you too. Let’s start with what I mean by these terms. By public lawContinue reading “Knowing your chickens from your eggs: distinguishing best interests decisions from public law decisions…”
Maybe if I just lock the door…
…and other solutions that seem like common sense, but can actually create complex issues. I get these a lot, when a practitioner is doing a routine call and and a family member mentions something they are doing to support their family member. It seems perfectly sensible to them, but it raises a red flag inContinue reading “Maybe if I just lock the door…”
Court of protection v inherent jurisdiction
I wanted talk about the difference between the Court of Protection and the inherent jurisdiction of the High Court because I have seen this cause a bit of confusion more than once in my practice. I am going to start with a bit of background, so bear with me. The inherent jurisdiction of the HighContinue reading “Court of protection v inherent jurisdiction”
Mental Capacity Act and covid-19 vaccination: the court’s approach so far
There have, to my knowledge, been 2 reported cases on this issue so far: E (Vaccine) [2021] EWCOP 7 and SD v Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea [2021] EWCOP 14 Initially, I wasn’t planning on talking about this subject. Primarily because for those of us in local authority this is not really high onContinue reading “Mental Capacity Act and covid-19 vaccination: the court’s approach so far”
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’”
DP v Hillingdon and the issue that may or may not be
If you practice in this area of law, or work with people who do, you’ll have heard of this case, because it has set a lot of hares running in a number of cases. If you don’t, then you might not have given this case much thought unless your local authority legal team sends bulletinsContinue reading “DP v Hillingdon and the issue that may or may not be”
Back to work and routine
Contrary to popular belief, my team and I do not get the whole festive period off. There are certainly some places where solicitors shut up shop for 2 weeks. But not those of us that work in social care. In fact, December and January are often our busiest periods. After all, nothing triggers a mentalContinue reading “Back to work and routine”