11 August 2021

Update – August 2021

Trust Wide preparation for implementation of the Liberty Protection Safeguards (LPS) 

The Trust has recently appointed Nicola Peet to the role of Mental Capacity Act Lead for the Trust, a role that she had been acting into, a further two posts will be advertised shortly to help Nicola support clinical staff in implementing this important and complex legislation and to prepare for the new Liberty Protection Safeguards (LPS) scheme.  

This new scheme was due to be implemented in April 2021 but due to Covid 19 the consultation exercise has been delayed, which will LIKELY put the full implementation back to later in 2022. 

This is a hugely important new scheme and one that will increase the level of responsibility on this organisation and therefore its staff on ensuring that a patient’s capacity is understood and part of their care plan.  

As part of getting ready to deliver this new scheme it is important that we ensure that we are safely and appropriately implementing the current system ie. Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS).

To help support staff Nicola and hopefully her soon to be appointed colleagues will: 

  • Visit wards, talk with staff, provide guidance and sample documentation

  • Support clinical teams to implement the improvements that they have identified through the completion of local audits

  • Provide bespoke training to areas of the Trust that are struggling to understand and implement the Mental Capacity Act

  • On request work alongside clinical staff whilst they are caring for complex and vulnerable people to ensure that capacity is key to decisions made

  • Recruit and support interested clinicians to have enhanced knowledge of the Mental Capacity Act so that they can support their colleagues.  

Nicola has now been out and about the organisation, working with staff and providing expert advice in this complex legislation. She has also been encouraging teams to set up their own support systems so that they can share any issues they have locally re the MCA.   

We will keep you informed of developments re the implementation of LPS and organise a Trust wide consultation process when it is launched. We do though want to be proactive and help you now!  So if you need guidance regarding the current processes, please do not hesitate to contact Nicola Peet.  

We believe that if we can implement the current system well, the next steps will be so much easier. 

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