Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards

When a person is determined as being mentally incapable of making decisions, Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards help keep them safe from harm by allowing others to make decisions for them. However, this is not an automatic process and an individual can be found to be mentally incapable only after conducting a series of assessments.

Care homes and hospitals must always keep their patients’ best interests as their top priority while applying for authorisation. It’s extremely important to choose the least restrictive option for the person in question, while balancing his or her need for freedom and independence.

What you will learn:

• Who needs Deprivation of Liberty safeguards and why precautions are necessary
• Who can apply for authorisation, and the proper way to obtain standard or urgent authorisations
• How to respect the rights of the person in question, and upholding his or her interests at all times
• The codes of practice and basic principles that should always be followed while applying for Deprivation of Liberty authorisation
• The different types of assessments that need to be performed before applying for DoLS authorisation
• The individuals whose views should be taken into account by the assessors

Benefits of the Course:

• You can help a patient or a family member by providing important information to assessors before authorisation is issued
• If you work in a care home or hospital, you will be able to identify patients who need Deprivation of Liberty for their own safety
• You will be able to keep a patient’s best interests at heart while implementing Deprivation of Liberty recommendations at the same time
• If you notice a patient being unlawfully or unfairly deprived of their liberty, you will be able to alert relevant authorities about the issue