Earlier this month, a new law was introduced to protect vulnerable people in care.
The Mental Capacity (Amendment) Bill
The Mental Capacity (Amendment) Bill was put forward to the House of Lords in a bid to replace the current system, ‘Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards’.
Commonly known as ‘DoLs’, it is an assessment carried out on people who do not have the mental capacity to make their own decisions about their care, for example, because they are living with dementia.
Liberty Protection Safeguards
In the past, it was widely criticised for being too complex and bureaucratic. However, the government has now created a new system, known as ‘Liberty Protection Safeguards’, which will become law through the bill.
The reforms will look to:
- Have less burden on people, carers, families and local authorities
- Introduce a simpler process that involves families more and gives swifter access to assessments
- Enable the NHS, rather than local authorities, to make decisions about their patients, allowing a more efficient and clearly accountable process
- Scrap repeat assessments and authorisations when someone moves between a care home, hospital and ambulance as part of their treatment
- Save local authorities an estimated £200 million or more a year
The Minister for Care, Caroline Dinenage said: “Treating people with respect and dignity, no matter their disability or condition, is the touchstone of a civilised society. I want to ensure that the system works for everyone and ensures that individuals’ fundamental rights are protected while reassuring families their loved ones are getting good care.”
The importance of advanced care planning
Many people fail to realise that if a person no longer has the mental capacity to make decisions about their health and welfare choices, then the onset of dementia can also be a threat to making decisions about their property and financial affairs.
Creating a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) gives you the opportunity to consider what kind of care you might wish to receive, or how you would like your finances to be handled.
Natasha Booth, Head of private client at Paul Crowley & Co, explains why setting up a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is so important when it comes to our advanced care planning: Read the blog.
Natasha Booth, Head of private client at Paul Crowley & Co, explains why setting up a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is so important when it comes to our advanced care planning: Keep up-to-date with Paul Crowley & Co by following us on social media! Twitter: @PaulCrowleyCo and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/paulcrowleyco.