New Blog: From DoLS to LPS: an important time for mental capacity
Hugh Constant, Head of Practice Development, Consultancy and Training at the Social Care Institute for Excellence has just published (24 January) a new blog called “From DoLS to LPS: an important time for mental capacity” on the government social care blog page.
Sometime in the next few months, the transition from Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) to Liberty Protection Safeguards (LPS) will begin. Hugh looks ahead to what the changes will mean in practice.
He writes: LPS is a scheme set up by an amendment to the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005. It might be worth reminding ourselves why we have these provisions under the MCA. Under law, you can deprive someone of their liberty, in certain circumstances, when authorised health and care professionals, in consultation with a person’s family and/or advocates, agree that person lacks capacity to make decisions in their best interests. No one providing care and support wants to deprive people of their liberty; the whole point is to empower people to do their own thing. But sometimes, it might need to be done and it’s a weighty responsibility on the shoulders of those who have to administer it.
Published