What now for deprivations of liberty?
What will the effect of the postponement of the Liberty Protections Safeguards be on local authorities? Local Government Lawyer asked 50 adult social care lawyers for their views on the potential consequences.
SPOTLIGHT |
Wide disparities exist in the rate of instructions to independent mental capacity advocates that cannot be explained by the different populations of local authority areas.
The Independent Mental Capacity Advocacy Service said in its sixth annual report that it was “likely that in some areas the duties under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 are still not well embedded.
“The duty to refer people who are eligible to IMCAs is still not understood in all parts of the health and social care sector."
Advocates are able to safeguard people who do not have the capacity to make certain important decisions about their health or social care.
The Act also introduced a legal duty on NHS bodies and local authorities to refer eligible people to the IMCA service and to consider their views before decisions are made.
The report recommended that local authorities audit recent accommodation moves, to ensure that people’s wishes and feelings have been considered and the issue of ‘less restriction’ has been fully reflected in all decisions.
It also suggested that local authorities carry out a small audit of recent reviews, to establish whether all those who would benefit from IMCAs in their reviews did receive one.
During the service’s sixth year there were 12,381 eligible instructions for the service in England, a 4% increase from the previous year.
Of these, accommodation decisions accounted for 5,353 cases, a 9% increase, serious medical treatment decisions for 1,907 (+9%), care reviews for 1,203 (+16%), adult protection and safeguarding 1,482 (-3%) and deprivation of liberty safeguards 1,907 (-3%).
The report noted the increase in the number of instructions for care reviews but said this continued to be low in absolute numbers, in comparison to accommodation decisions.
It added that this raised the question as to whether care reviews were consistently undertaken after moves.
Mark Smulian
The report's recommendations in full