The European Court of Human Rights
(ECtHR) has ruled that the rights of people who are unable to make
their own decisions, especially when they need to be deprived of
their liberty in their own best interests, need to be
protected.
In certain circumstances it may be
necessary to deprive someone of their liberty in order to give them
care or treatment that is in their best interests and protects them
from harm.
The Mental Capacity Act 2006 Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards
(MCA DOLS) exist to protect people who cannot make decisions about
their care and treatment when they need to be cared for in a
particularly restrictive way.
By following the MCA DOLS, hospital staff can ensure that people
are deprived of their liberty only when necessary and within the
law.
The ECtHR has said that deprivation of liberty depends on the
specific circumstances of each individual case. The ECtHR and UK
courts have made judgements on a number of cases where patients
have been deprived of their liberty. The following list indicates
the circumstances that led the courts to reach those decisions:
- restraint was used to admit a person to hospital when the
person is resisting admission
- medication administered forcibly, against a patient’s will
- staff exercised complete control over the care and movements of
a person for a long period of time
- staff took all decisions on a person’s behalf, including
choices relating to assessments, treatments, visitors and where
they can live
- hospital staff took responsibility for deciding if a person can
be released into the care of others or allowed to live
elsewhere
- when carers requested that a person be discharged to their
care, hospital staff refused
- the person was prevented from seeing friends or family because
the hospital has restricted access to them
- the person was unable to make choices about what they wanted to
do and how they wanted to live, because hospital staff exercised
continuous supervision and control over them.
People are entitled to be cared for in the least restrictive way
possible and depriving a patient of their liberty should be a last
resort after all other options have been explored. However if the
hospital believes that a deprivation of liberty is necessary there
is a standard process to follow to ensure that the deprivation of
liberty is lawful and the individual is protected.
Reference
'Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards - a guide for hospitals and
care homes.' Department of Health 2009.
Useful Contacts
DOLS Lead
Royal Berkshire Hospital Foundation Trust
London Road
Reading
RG1 5AN
0118 322 8159