Mental Capacity
Capacity Act and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards
Briefing for all staff working in residential and nursing care - October 201
2013
This briefing is provided for;
• all staff working with residential and nursing care homes – to support their
understanding of the statutory requirements of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) and
the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DOLS).
The Mental Capacity Act 2005 - MCA
All staff who work with or care for any adult who may lack the mental capacity to make
decisions must comply with the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) when making decisions
or acting for that person, when the person lacks the capacity to make the decision for
themselves – whether they are everyday matters or life-changing events.
The Act clarifies;
• that adults should be presumed to have the mental capacity to make decisions for
themselves unless it can be shown that they lack the capacity to make the decision
at the time that the decision needs to be made,
• the process for assessing capacity and determining who is responsible for doing so,
• the legal framework for making-decisions on behalf of people (known in the Act as
“best interests”) who lack the capacity to make specific decisions for themselves,
• the type of decisions which may be made for people who lack the capacity to
consent (including the permissible use of restraint), the protection that exists for staff
in doing so and where restriction may become a deprivation of liberty.
Statutory Responsibility
The MCA is accompanied by the Code of Practice which provides guidance on how the
Act should be applied on a day-to-day basis which must be taken into consideration.
All staff need to be familiar with the Code as it provides full details about the key
features of the Act, information regarding the protection from liability that it offers (and
where this authority ends) and comprehensive guidance regarding further safeguards.
The Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards
Safeguards - DOLS
The Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DOLS) apply to people in hospital or care homes
who for their own safety and in their best interests need to be accommodated under care
and treatment programmes that may have the effect of depriving them of their liberty, but
who lack the capacity to consent. The DOLS provide a lawful process for authorising the
provision of care or treatment, which has exceeded the permission afforded by the MCA.
Statutory Responsibility
The DOLS which have statutory force place the responsibility for identifying and seeking
authorisation with the care home manager or ward manager; referred to within the
safeguards as the Managing Authority.
To ensure compliance with the DOLS, care home managers must be confident with;
• assessing and recording when a resident does not have the capacity to consent,
• identifying when a restriction is occurring and when that restriction exceeds the
authority that is provided by the Mental Capacity Act,
• completing and submitting the DOLS forms in a timely way to legitimise their action.
Staff Development
Further Support
Suffolk County Council continues to
provide training courses for staff working
in residential and nursing care on both the
Mental Capacity Act and the Deprivation
of Liberty Safeguards – DOLS.
Guidance regarding the DOLS including;
Suffolk’s Multi-agency Procedure and
further information can be found on the
DOLS page of the Suffolk MCA Website
www.suffolk.gov.uk/mca
These half day courses take place on the
same day, with the MCA session taking
place in the morning and the DOLS
session in the afternoon.
In addition the website includes guidance
and details relating to the wider provisions
of the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
For details regarding the MCA and DOLS
Courses, including dates and locations,
please contact
Rowena Hughes 01473 264396
[email protected]
Where a managing authority has an
enquiry which cannot be met through
accessing the website, they can contact
Dominic Nasmyth-Miller 01473 260813
[email protected]
www.suffolk.gov.uk/mca
Updated 2013-10-31