The deprivation of liberty safeguards were drafted in the aftermath of the ‘Bournewood judgment’ (HL v UK), where the ECtHR commented on the “dearth” of regulation and safeguards for the detention of people who lacked mental capacity, in comparison with those detained under the Mental Health Act. The safeguards are set out in Schedule A1 of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA), and apply to detention in care homes and hospitals. The DoLS provide a set of administrative and legal procedures to ensure that anyone deprived of their liberty has access to safeguards to allow them to challenge the lawfulness of their detention, and ensure restrictions are proportionate and necessary. A question that has bothered me since researching the safeguards is why they only apply in care homes and hospitals when increasingly care in the UK is provided through alternative structures like supported living (usually for adults with learning disabilities) or extra-care housing (usually for older adults).
Eleanor Roosevelt, 1958
'Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home -- so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any map of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person... Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world.' Eleanor Roosevelt, 1958
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Showing posts with label Department of Health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Department of Health. Show all posts
Saturday, 21 May 2011
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