Hospitals and care homes are making less than expected use of new measures designed to protect people unable to consent to their care or treatment, a report says.
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 report on data from 2009/2010 provides the first official information about use of the new arrangements.
The total number of applications made was much lower than expected (7,160 in England compared with the number predicted of 21,000 for England and Wales).
Although the number of successful applications resulting in an authorisation to deprive a person of their liberty was lower than expected (3,300 in England compared to the 5,000 predicted for England and Wales), a much higher percentage of applications than expected were successful (46% compared with the predicted 25%).
The majority of applications (3,645 out of 7,160) were for a person who lacked capacity because of dementia.
The Mental Capacity Act Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards came into force on 1 April 2009, and provides a legal framework to prevent the unlawful deprivation of a person’s liberty occurring.
The arrangements protect people who are vulnerable to abuse and poor care while residing in a hospital or care home through the use of a standardised assessment and authorisation process.
They can be used if someone lacks capacity, such as the severely learning disabled or with advanced dementia, to consent to arrangements made for their care or treatment but who needs to be deprived of their liberty for their own best interests.
They offer the person concerned the right to challenge any decision to deprive them of liberty, a representative to act for them and protect their interests and the right to have their status reviewed and monitored on a regular basis.
The report reveals that about 4% of applications that were not authorised involved situations where the person was nevertheless judged as being in a situation that amounted to a deprivation of liberty.
It says: “In these cases the hospitals and care homes could be acting illegally if the person was not swiftly cared for or treated in less restrictive circumstances.”
Read the full report.
Tags: Consent
