The government has introduced a set of deprivation of liberty safeguard reforms which, it claims, will lessen the burden on local authorities, whilst saving an approximate £200 million a year. These savings will contribute to frontline care and tackle the backlog of 108,000 people currently with un-reviewed safeguards.
The new bill has been drafted to make sure that the burden on people, carers, families and local authorities is eased. In addition, the bill proposes to introduce a more simplified process, with more engagement with families and quicker access to justice.
Furthermore, the bill allows the NHS, instead of local authorities, to authorise patients and aims to put an end to repeat assessments and authorisations when a patient is moving between care home, hospital and ambulance due to their treatment.
