The Department of Health and Social Care (“DHSC”) has announced a further delay to the public consultation on the draft regulations and draft Code of Practice for the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and the Liberty Protection Safeguards (“LPS”). The DHSC had intended to launch the consultation in the summer of 2021 but said that due …
Further Delays to the Implementation of the Liberty Protection Safeguards Read More »
Images that will be remembered from this pandemic are those of friends and family visiting their loved ones through the windows of care homes. These images are illustrative of how much harder it has been to stay in touch with someone who lives in a care home during the pandemic. Visits were severely restricted during …
This has been a significant year for regulated social care and has seen a number of dynamic changes and changes, made in response to crisis, which will remain after this crisis is long past. The crisis is, of course, the COVID-19 Pandemic. Registered Care has been affected very significantly but has risen to that unplanned …
On 16 July 2020, the Government announced that the Liberty Protection Safeguards (“LPS”) which were due to be implemented on 1 October 2020 would be delayed until April 2022. The Mental Capacity (Amendment) Act 2019 (“MC(A)A 2019”), introduced the LPS to replace the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (“DoLS”). The LPS will authorise deprivation of liberty …
LPS update: The removal of the Care Home Manager role & the draft regulations Read More »
The General Medical Council (“GMC”) has published guidance titled, ‘Guidance on professional standards and ethics for doctors: Decision making and consent’ and it came into effect on 9 November 2020. The guidance explains that shared decision making and consent are fundamental to good medical practice and that doctors must be satisfied that they have a …
A report published on 22 October 2020 focuses on the use of restrictive practices and restraint in specialist hospitals which care for people with learning disabilities and/or autism. The report is critical of both providers who deliver care to these individuals and of the commissioners of care who fail to properly intervene prior to people’s …
The CQC’s position on the use of restraint in learning disability hospitals Read More »
On 25 August 2020 the DHSC published what might be described as a “one stop shop” guidance document called “Overview of adult social care guidance on coronavirus (COVID-19) This page provides information for adult social care providers about COVID-19 guidance and support on the areas listed below and will be updated to reflect new DHSC, NHS …
DHSC publish “Overview of adult social care guidance on coronavirus (COVID-19)” Read More »
On 21 August 2020, the Government published guidance, ‘Hospital discharge service: policy and operating model’. The guidance sets out how health and care systems should support the safe and timely discharge of people who no longer need to stay in hospital. The guidance replaces ‘Coronavirus (COVID-19) hospital discharge service requirements’ which was published on 19 …
On 11 August 2020, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (“NICE”) published a Quality Standard on ‘Decision making and mental capacity’ (Quality Standard [QS194]). Quality Standards are reviewed by NICE every August and have the aim of helping practitioners improve the quality of care they provide or commission. Quality Standards are endorsed by …
NICE guidance on decision making and mental capacity Read More »
The Social Care Institute for Excellence (“SCIE”) published guidance in July 2020 titled, “Best interests decisions: A COVID-19 quick guide” (“SCIE guidance”). The SCIE guidance explains that application of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (the “MCA”) in practice has been challenging due to the implications of COVID-19 and sets out how best interests decisions should …
Best interests decisions: A COVID-19 quick guide Read More »
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