Vulnerable would lose liberty in care homes for longer under new law

People with dementia, mental illness and other care needs could be locked up for longer in care homes, under the proposed Mental Capacity (Amendment) Bill which has created a ‘conflict of interest’ for care home managers.

Jeremy Hughes: Bill could put people's 'wellbeing in jeopardy'

The Alzheimer’s Society, the National Autistic Society and mental health charity MIND, are among the organisations expressing anger about the proposed bill, on behalf of people with dementia, learning disabilities and others who they believe will be worse off.

The bill would triple the time people can be deprived of their liberty without a review (from one year to three years), sparking criticism from charities. While an individual's first and second review would take place after one year, a third review is proposed to not take place until three years later.

Care home managers would also get more powers to arrange assessments and decide whether residents can access advocacy, which previously had been the job of local authorities.

People would feel 'unable to comment on quality of care'

Jeremy Hughes, chief executive at the Alzheimer’s Society, said: “Half of the people currently cared for under the DoLs [Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards] in England have dementia, so it is alarming to think that these proposed changes could put their wellbeing in jeopardy.

“Under the new proposals, people with dementia find themselves in a worrying situation, unable to comment on the quality of the care they receive, because care home managers would be in charge of asking residents about their care.

“This not only presents a risk to people with dementia, but also creates a potential conflict of interest for already stretched care home managers.”

The charities, including the Voluntary Organisations Disability Group (VODG), argue the bill would replace existing DoLs with an ‘entirely unfit new system of protection’ which would not ‘guarantee that all patients have access to independent, impartial advocates’.

The charities say there must be an independent person carrying out assessments to ensure the liberty and rights of people with a range of care needs.

A report published by Inclusion London sought the views of people with disabilities. It stated: 'Advocacy is about being heard, and addressing the power imbalances between people lacking mental capacity, and the institutions and services that support them'.

Care England chief: 'a need to ensure freedoms and rights are protected'

Care home owners have also voiced their opposition to the bill, arguing passing the burden of DoLs from local authorities to care homes, poses a conflict of interest which must be addressed.

Martin Green, chief executive of Care England, representing care home owners, said: “We have grave concerns over the Bill and feel it is being pushed through Parliament without proper consultation.

"The protection of people in care services is our top priority, but there is a need to ensure that their freedoms and rights are also protected. This Bill is not supported by either users groups, or care providers and I urge the Government to consult on a workable alternative.”

Earlier this month, a briefing was submitted to the Public Bill Committee, by Care England, National Care Association (NCA), National Care Forum (NCF) and Registered Nursing Home Association (RNHA), which represent care home providers.

The care home bodies stated: ‘Confusion and illogicality permeate the bill; this is particularly noticeable following the amendments which have removed some of the most worrying features.'

Intense criticism of the bill in the House of Lords by peers has already led to 307 amendments being tabled.

The care home associations added: ‘We recommend that Government consults on how regulation and inspection can illuminate the effects on people at the heart of this process of the scheme to protect their rights.

‘The rush to statute is unnecessary: this legal framework is important enough to get it right.'

The bill is at Committee stage, after which it will have its Third reading in the House of Commons.

The Department for Health and Social Care stated: 'Our bill will reform a broken system and ensure vulnerable people can more quickly access legal protections.

'We have listened carefully to feedback from stakeholders and parliamentarians and made amendments, including excluding care home managers from granting authorisations or completing assessments. This will ensure all applications are independently scrutinised.'