A new framework on authorising a deprivation of liberty

The Mental Capacity (Amendment) Act 2019 received royal assent on 16 May 2019 and sets out the new scheme: Liberty Protection Safeguards (LPS), which replaces the old DoLS contained in the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

Hospital providers and clinical commissioning groups, as the new “responsible bodies” for LPS, will need to become familiar with their new expanded role in the deprivation of liberty process and ensure that boards and governing bodies as well as those on the ground are aware of the changes coming down the track. Care homes will also need to get up to speed (albeit they are not “responsible bodies”). We still await more flesh on the bones in the form of the Code of Practice, which is due out for consultation sometime soon.

For health and care professionals without much time, we set out below a summary of how the law on authorising a deprivation of liberty will change and what the new LPS scheme means.