Care homes and hospitals must apply to us for authorisation to deprive someone of their liberty.
A Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) authorisation does not give the care home or hospital any special powers. It only makes lawful the restrictions that are already or proposed to be in place. Families should be consulted about any proposed changes in the person’s care plan.
How to request Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) authorisation
You can request Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) authorisation to get:
- urgent authorisation (including a standard authorisation)
- a standard authorisation where you apply up to 28 days in advance of the person coming to you or you know you will be depriving them of their liberty from a certain date
- a further standard authorisation also referred to as a renewal (if you already have an authorisation in place and it’s due to expire)
When submitting your application, you must include:
- as much detail in your referrals as possible - this will help us triage their priority
- the person’s permanent address and demographic information
- the date they came to you
Be sure to update us with any changes, by email to dols@bcpcouncil.gov.uk.
How we deal with your Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) authorisation application
When we receive an application, we send out two independent assessors, they are a:
- specially trained doctor
- specially trained ‘best interests assessor’
They will talk to the person and their family or friends to get their views and consider whether the arrangements are necessary.
If a person has a:
- lasting power of attorney for health and welfare
- personal welfare deputy
Then they can only be deprived of their liberty under the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) if they are in agreement with the proposed care and treatment.
If the person objects to the arrangements or proposed arrangements, they still have the same right to appeal as someone without an attorney or deputy.
If someone objects to a proposed move into care, assessments must happen before the move to ensure the person’s human rights are upheld and that the move is lawful.
If authorisation is given, a representative is appointed to help the person exercise their rights.
Contact us about Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS)
You can contact us by:
- email at dols@bcpcouncil.gov.uk
- phone on 01202 118 700
Changes to Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS)
Liberty Protection Safeguards (LPS) is a new legal framework which will replace the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS).
We are currently awaiting updated timescales from the government as to when the LPS will be implemented.
You can find out more about the Liberty Protection Safeguards and what these mean for individuals, carers and professionals.