The number of requests to ensure the freedom of vulnerable people are being protected have risen significantly, following a landmark ruling earlier this year.
New figures show that the number of Deprivation of Liberty (DoL) applications have increased by 74% in 130 councils in the first three months of this year, compared to the total number of applications for the whole of last year.
The figures, from the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC), show that since DoLs were introduced in 2009, applications have increased year on year. However, a Supreme Court ruling in March found that people in hospitals and care homes who are unable to consent to arrangements must also be assessed. This has led to a significant increase in requests for this quarter.
Chair of the HSCIC, Kingsley Manning, said: ‘The increase in applications has shown that councils have been quick to act on the Supreme Court judgment about when it is appropriate to deprive an individual of their liberty.
‘It is hoped that this voluntary quarterly data collection will help to monitor the scale of these types of applications and the impact the increase is having on councils, in a timely manner.’
The figures show that Hertfordshire County Council is dealing with more assessments that any other authority. The council had more than 2,600 applications to process in the first half of this year, compared to 262 applications last year.
Cabinet member for adult care and health, Colette Wyatt-Lowe, said: ‘Although this has hugely increased our work load and put pressure on already stretched resources we see it as a good thing. It is about protecting people’s liberties. We are independently scrutinising all the decisions made on behalf of people who lack capacity to consent to being in a hospital or care home to make sure they are in their own best interests.
‘Hertfordshire County Council has spent an additional £3m as a direct result of handling the increased workload. We’ve asked Government for more support and are backing Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) and the LGA’s recent call for a further £88m in government funding. In addition we are training more assessors and working on streamlining all our processes to be more efficient.’
