Hospitals and care homes are making use of new measures designed to protect people unable to give consent for their care.
The Mental Capacity Act Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards were introduced by law on 1 April 2009 to provide a legal framework for depriving someone of their liberty where they are unable to give informed consent regarding their care. The statistics presented here provide the first official information about authorisations to legally detain a person using the legislation.
The safeguards apply to people aged 18 and above who suffer from a mental disorder of the mind (such as dementia or a profound learning disability) and who lack capacity to give consent to the arrangements made for their care and / or treatment. The safeguards cover people in all hospitals and care homes in the statutory, independent and voluntary sectors.
A rigorous, standardised assessment and authorisation process is used to ensure only appropriate use is made of the safeguards.
The Department of Health publication strategy with regards to the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) is that after the Quarter 3 2010/11 publication for the remainder of 2010/11:
- a further quarterly publication which will be issued to cover quarter 4
- an annual publication.
For the period 2011/2012:
- two six monthly publications
- an annual publication
For the period 2012/13
- only an annual publication