Deprivation of liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and Liberty Protection Safeguards (LPS)
The Mental Capacity Act 2005 provided a legal framework in the form of the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguarding (DoLs), to protect vulnerable people, who may become, or are being deprived of their liberty in a care home or hospital setting (since 2014 in supported living).
There are plans to replace Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS), and introduce in its place the Liberty Protection Safeguards (LPS), however delays announced by the UK Government suggest this is now unlikely to be before 2025. The Mental Capacity (Amendment) Act 2019 (the MC(A)A 2019) introduced the Liberty Protection Safeguards, and the new framework will protect vulnerable individuals 16+, in a wider range of care settings than the DoLS framework.
Until these changes come in, staff should continue to make appropriate DoLS referral requests for anyone who meets the qualifying criteria under schedule A1 for those in a hospital setting of care/nursing home who are 18 and over. You can speak with the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards Team for information or advice. The team can also advise on 16-18 year old individuals in any care setting – see further information for Dols team below.
The changes will be activated once the Liberty Protection Safeguard Regulations for England are ratified in Parliament and the LPS Regulations for Wales are passed by Senedd Cymru, and changes to the Mental Capacity Act 2005 Code of Practice are finalised.