1,000 people in Sandwell have liberty curtailed to protect them

The statistic was revealed as members of Sandwell Council’s social care scrutiny board discussed legal changes to the freedom of adults who lack the mental capacity to make rational decisions.

Karen Emms, divisional manager for adult social care, said councils across the country had been given 12 months to bring in new deprivation of liberty standards and safeguarding procedures.

She told councillors: “One of the biggest changes to the decision making procedure is we will no longer have to take those decisions to a court to be authorised.

“The new legislation changes the age range. Up till now, the deprivation of liberty only involved those aged 18 and over but at the very final hour the government changed that age range to 16.”

Adding that councils will now be responsible for people in private hospitals and those living in their own homes, she said the new rules were expected to see an increase in the numbers whose freedom is curtailed.

Procedures

Restrictions can range from preventing people with senile dementia from walking out into the street unaccompanied, or preventing those with severe learning disabilities making tea in case they scald themselves.

Ms Emms added councils must follow strict procedures including medical and mental health checks and ensure that the individuals or their representatives are consulted.

She added: “Before a responsible body authorises the deprivation of liberty an pre-authorisation review has to be done so that those balances and checks need to be there before we can lawfully state that we think it is right that the person is deprived and that it is in the person’s best interest.”

Other changes in the law mean reviews of deprivation of liberty will no longer happen every 12 months.

In future restrictions will be reassessed twice in the first two years, increasing to once in every three years.

The new legislation will come into force in October 2020.