Liberty Protection Safeguards − Current Situation
The government's 5th April announcement that LPS will not be implemented “in the life of this parliament” has left much confusion in its wake and a lot of speculation about what will happen next.
It is impossible to say whether the government formed after the next general election will implement LPS in its present form, make changes, or scrap it completely.
What Next?
What we know is that DoLS will be with us for the next few years at least. We also know that there is currently a huge "DoLS backlog" which must be cleared. Offical figures from NHS Digital show that the backlog grew by approximately 16,000 between 2021-2022. Waiting time has also increased to an unacceptable level.
Managing authorities are being urged to consider their staff knowledge and competence around when and how to grant urgent authorisations and apply for standard authorisations as well as identifying any training needs.
How does this affect you?
Supervisory bodies are being urged to urgently review their BIA staffing levels. There has never been a greater need for BIAs.
Below are a range of courses and qualifications that will help you to stay up to date:
- Record Keeping
- Human Rights
- The Mental Capacity Act (Advanced)
- MCA and MHA Interface
- Best Interest Assessor Course and Qualification
- Best Interest Assessor Statutory Legal Update
Free LPS Webinar
Max Duddles, solicitor, Bond Solon trainer, course designer and Subject Matter Expert on LPS and DoLS, discusses these issues in more detail in our free 40 minute webinar.
Topics covered include:
- Where the announcement leaves everyone?
- What to do now.
- Who is accountable for the backlog?
- How the provisions of the Mental Capacity Act should be applied to DoLS.
- The importance of continuing to build local LPS networks to address the problem of the increasing numbers of people who are being unlawfully deprived of their liberty.
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