Coronavirus (COVID-19): looking after people who lack mental capacity

 Read government guidance here

Decision making and mental capacity

 Click here for NICE guidance

Hoarding and mental capacity: key points for social workers

Working with a person who hoards is likely to raise issues of whether they lack mental capacity to make particular decisions. Click here to see Community Care article

Support people to make decisions if they have capacity but find it difficult, NICE says

Health and social care professionals should support people to make decisions who find it difficult, NICE says in new draft guidance.

They should support people even if they make a decision that they may disagree with. Making an ‘unwise’ or ‘risky’ choice does not mean that a person lacks capacity and decisions need to be made on their behalf, the draft guidance on decision making and mental capacity says.

Using visual aids or involving friends and family can help a person communicate their wishes, NICE says.

Vulnerable adults let down on Mental Capacity Act

Vulnerable adults are too often being let down by social workers and care providers failing to follow the Mental Capacity Act properly, a report has warned.

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman’s review found one in five social care complaints made to the service last year concerned mental capacity or deprivation of liberty cases. More than two-thirds of these complaints were upheld, compared to 53% of all complaints across social care.

Risks vs rights: how social workers handle one of the toughest jobs in mental health

One of the most important roles in our mental health system is also one of the least known about. Every day, approved mental health professionals (AMHPs) have to assess whether a person’s mental health crisis has become so severe that they need to be detained for their own safety, or that of others, under the Mental Health Act.

This complex and finely balanced judgment call is often made in difficult circumstances. It demands AMHPs weigh up the risks against a person’s human rights. Detaining a person against their will takes away their liberty. But if they are refusing care, it could be the only way to get much-needed, potentially life-saving, support.

Read more HERE

Response to concerns about our guidance for doctors on attempting CPR and DNACPR orders

Clarification on the GMC's guidance on the Treatment and care towards the end of life,

Law Commission reveals Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards replacement

The Law Commission has delivered its final recommendations to ministers on replacing the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards, after concluding the current system is “in crisis”.

The government asked the commission to review the DoLS amid concerns councils were failing to cope with a tenfold rise in deprivation of liberty cases triggered by the Supreme Court’s landmark ‘Cheshire West’ ruling in March 2014.

The commission has now published its final report and draft legislation for a new system to authorise care placements involving deprivation of liberty for people lacking capacity. The commission believes its proposed Liberty Protection Safeguards (LPS) scheme will be less onerous than the DoLS while still offering human rights protections.

Government revises Care Act guidance after Supreme Court loss

The government has updated the Care Act statutory guidance after it lost a Supreme Court case on ordinary residence disputes.

The Department of Health has reviewed and updated the guidance following the Supreme Court judgment in July in the case of R (on the application of Cornwall Council) v Secretary of State for Health.

The updates, which can be read from paragraphs 19.17 to 19.43 of the guidance, set out changes in the approach that should be used to determine ordinary residence or disputes between councils in relation to adults who lack capacity to decide where to live and looked-after children who are transitioning to certain adult social care services.

Mental Capacity Act 2005, Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (England), Annual Report 2015-16

Annual statistics have been released by NHS Digital on Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) applications made to councils in England.

105,055 completed applications were reported in 2015-16, compared to 62,645 in 2014-15. This represents an increase of 68 per cent and follows a 380 per cent increase in completed applications between 2013-14 and 2014-15 (from 13,040 in 2013-14).

Mental Capacity Act

The Social Care Institute for Excellence has release a new online resource Using the Mental Capacity Act. The video aims to explain the Mental Capacity Act and how it can protect the right to make choices for people who need the Act, their carers, and others. Split into sections it explains the five key principles of the Act and how they work in practice.

Capacity and consent: tool for health professionals

The General Medical Council has launched an interactive online tool to help health professionals determine a patient's capacity to make a decision about their treatment. The tool draws on principles in GMC guidance and includes downloadable resources including guidance, a flowchart setting out all the steps in the tool, case studies and a record to help the health professional reflect on skills and understanding.