Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards
A guide for family, friends and unpaid carers
This page contains all the information you need to understand
what the Mental Capacity Act Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (MCA
DOLS) are all about. Importantly, it helps you to:
- understand your rights to have a say in your friend or family
member's care
- ensure that all possible steps are being taken to protect the
interests of your friend or family member while they are being
deprived of their liberty
What are the MCA DOLS?
The MCA DOLS provide protection for vulnerable people who are
accommodated in hospitals or care homes in circumstances that
amount to a deprivation of their liberty and who lack the capacity
to consent to the care or treatment they need.
It is anticipated that the majority of people who will require
the protection of the MCA DOLS are those people with more severe
learning disabilities, older people with any of the range of
dementias or people with neurological conditions such as brain
injuries.
The MCA DOLS provide that deprivation of liberty:
- should be avoided whenever possible
- should only be authorised in cases where it is in the relevant
person's best interests and the only way to keep them safe
- should be for as short a time as possible
- should be only for a particular treatment plan or course of
action.
When can someone be deprived of their liberty?
The MCA DOLS set out clear guidelines on when someone can be
deprived of their liberty:
- It must be to provide a specific treatment or care plan that is
in the person's best interests.
- Doctors or care professionals must be satisfied that there is
no suitable alternative care plan that would not deprive the person
of their liberty.
- The hospital or care home where the person is staying. must
apply to the primary care trust or local authority responsible for
the hospital or care home, for authorisation to begin the care
plan.
- The supervisory body must conduct six assessments to confirm
that deprivation of liberty is lawful and appropriate.
What happens once an MCA DOLS authorisation is granted?
The supervisory body will set how long the authorisation will
last. This should be for as short a time as possible and for
no longer than 12 months.
While the authorisation lasts, if at any point the person no
longer needs to be deprived of their liberty or their circumstances
change, then the authorisation should be reviewed and, where
appropriate, end.
When should a friend or family member be consulted?
Friends or family members previously named by the relevant
person (or someone acting on the relevant person's behalf) should
be consulted at the following points:
- BEFORE a request is made by the care home or
registered hospital.
- DURING the assessment process
- OUTCOME when the outcome is known and the
decision has been made.
Relevant person's representative guide
The relevant person's representative guide is a booklet designed
to help you understand and fulfil your role as a relevant person's
representative (RPR). As an RPR, you have been appointed to support
a person who is deprived of their liberty under the Mental Capacity
Act 2005 Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (MCA DOLS).
Download the guide
here
Further information
The following documents may be useful to you:
Age UK - Deprivation of
Liberty Safeguards factsheet
Alzheimer's Society -
Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards information
Mental Capacity Act 2005
Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards: A guide for family, friends and
unpaid carers - this guide explains the role of family, friends
and unpaid carers
Further details
Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DOLS) Officer
Phone: 01254 585433
Fax: 01254 588968
Email: dols@blackburn.gov.uk
Forms for care homes or hospitals
If you are a managing authority such as a care home or hospital
and feel that someone in your care is deprived of their liberty by
the restrictions in place you will need to submit a Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards Form 1
(standard and urgent request).
To request a further standard authorisation to follow on after
the expiry of an existing Deprivation of Liberty Authorisation
please complete a Deprivation of Liberty
Safeguards Form 2 (further authorisation request).
To request a review of a Deprivation of Liberty Authorisation
already in place because there has been a change in the
circumstances of the relevant person please complete a Deprivation of Liberty
Safeguards Form 10 (review request).
When the relevant form has been completed, please email it to dols@blackburn.gov.uk
If you need help understanding MCA DOLS contacts the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DOLS) Officer.