10 February 2020
Priority must be given to protecting the basic human right of liberty
‘Protecting the basic human right of liberty must be a priority’ was of the key messages from a special conference taking place in Belfast this week on the theme of the ‘Deprivation of Liberty of elderly and incapacitated people’.
The Elder
Law and Capacity Conference, which had been organised by the Law
Society of Northern Ireland, brought together representatives from the legal,
health and voluntary/community sectors to discuss the introduction of the first
tranche of the Mental Capacity (NI) Act 2016 and its impact on
elderly, incapacitated clients and their support networks.
Those
attending the conference had an opportunity to hear from a panel of experts on
issues relating to the Deprivation of Liberty and the need to ensure the
new Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) are applied to
protect the most vulnerable and those who cannot consent to their care
arrangements in a care home or hospital and who may be deprived of their
liberty.
A new
Statutory framework is now in place to require authorisation for any such
deprivation of liberty with tiers of safeguards to ensure scrutiny of the
decision making process and the opportunity to challenge the legality of the
deprivation.
Commenting
the Conference Chair, Linda Johnston said:
“We
acknowledge the challenges for those in the health and care sector in
interpreting and effectively applying the new Deprivation of Liberty
Safeguards (DoLS) which are essential to protect the basic human right of those
with diminished capacity with regard to their liberty.
Prior to the new
framework there has been a legislative gap in N I around the deprivation of
liberty. It remains to be seen whether we now have a robust and effective set
of safeguards to respect the right to personal autonomy when considering health
and welfare interventions.”
Gallery
Garett McCann, Linda Johnston, Thomas Adell, Maura McCallion, Rowan White President of the LSNI
Rowan White, President of the Law Society of Northern Ireland
Linda Johnston, Chair of the Elder Law Conference 2020
Garett McCann, DA Martin Ltd
Thomas Adell, Department of Health