Hello, This is my first post although I have been helped enormously by everyone as I have been reading your questions and answers. My question tonight is, has anyone's relative, whilst in a care home, had a deprivation of liberty safeguard requested. I hadn't heard of one of these until today. I have since googled it and I do know what is involved but I hadn't heard of it in a care home with dementia patients so I am interested. My Mother has been in a care home since 2012. I am a strong person, but I have never had to face anything like dementia before, it is awful. I know we all feel robbed of our loved ones and this has been said many times, but until you are actually faced with dementia you just don't know what its like.
Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS)
- Thread starter Herbaltea
- Start date
I have had the conversation today on this. My mum moved into a new carehome and naturally is scared and upset.
She was asking to go home and saying she hates it. The manager said if she continues she can't legally keep her there!? I pointed out wanting to go home was equal to i'm scared and don't feel safe!
I believe the DoLS means they can stop them leaving. It's not unusual for a carehome to apply for this IF they are deemed to be of sound mind. This new home said it was a long process to get but her last home said it was a fax!?
She was asking to go home and saying she hates it. The manager said if she continues she can't legally keep her there!? I pointed out wanting to go home was equal to i'm scared and don't feel safe!
I believe the DoLS means they can stop them leaving. It's not unusual for a carehome to apply for this IF they are deemed to be of sound mind. This new home said it was a long process to get but her last home said it was a fax!?
Thank you for your reply. I have recently move my mother too and of course she is confused and upset and wants to go home like you own mum. This was mentioned to me today too. Fortunately my mother is still easily distracted so she was taken away from the situation (she wanted to get out of the door!) But this is the first time I have heard of DoLs. It is a little scary. All I want (and I suppose all everyone wants who has a relative in a care home) is for them to be safe, cared for and most of the time happy and content. Wanting to go to the door and try to get out is a natural thing to do if you want to go home. I think it a little unfair to mention DoLs for this reason on one occasion alone, but I am not a professional, maybe this is how it is.
It was pointed out on another thread recently that a care home cannot legally keep someone there if they want to go home and there is no DoL in place. But in practice, what would actually happen? I cannot see any reputable care home simply allowing any vulnerable person to leave - they would have to ask a relative to fetch them. And as we all know, a CH place is only usually decided on after much agonised heart searching, because the person now needs 24/7 care and supervision. So equally, I cannot see many people meekly agreeing to come and fetch them only to have to start the whole torturous business again, with all the added upset for their relative.
Obviously there have to be safeguards against unscrupulous relatives trying to have someone 'put away' for their own reasons, but I would imagine that after even just a very short time any reputable CH would be well aware if someone did NOT need to be there.
In practice, there must surely be some reasonably quick way of arranging a D of L order, if someone genuinely needs to be in a secure environment for their own safety. I imagine it must often happen that dementia sufferers ask or demand to leave secure care homes - if they were all simply allowed to walk out the papers would be full of stories of vulnerable elderly coming to harm.
My dad has been in hospital since dec 17th whilst waiting for a NH place to become available. A few weeks ago a bed was found in a specialist EMI unit but my dad refused to go & threatened to smash up ambulance. The next day he had no recollection of this but the ward staff applied for DoLs. After assessments it was deemed that my dad didnt need this at the moment because the hospital staff were still able to coax him back into his bay, plus he being very carefully monitored with one to one sitters. Therefore as far as things stand now he isnt considered to be at risk but things could change in future when a DoLs may be applied for again. We had a 9 page report detailing the reasons why it was originally applied for & why it was subsequently refused.
Wishing you all the best, its a terrible situation for everyone concerned.
Wishing you all the best, its a terrible situation for everyone concerned.
Hello, and I am sorry that you have to go through this. When my father went in to a nursing home last May he was always trying to get out and insisted on belong allowed home.
The home started the DOL procedure and a really lovely lady came to see me. It was horrid, but I detailed all the reasons why he couldn't live at home, and all the bad stuff that had gone on even though he had 24 hour carers. I also had to say that there were no circumstances under which I would help in taking him to his home or to ours.
The DOL order was granted and it was fine. He settled after a bit, but sadly died at the end of September. The process was just another of those loss of dignity processes that come with the disease.
Good luck
Lizzie
The home started the DOL procedure and a really lovely lady came to see me. It was horrid, but I detailed all the reasons why he couldn't live at home, and all the bad stuff that had gone on even though he had 24 hour carers. I also had to say that there were no circumstances under which I would help in taking him to his home or to ours.
The DOL order was granted and it was fine. He settled after a bit, but sadly died at the end of September. The process was just another of those loss of dignity processes that come with the disease.
Good luck
Lizzie
Hi my mum is also in a care home going into her 7th week she has a DoLS in place I had a meeting there today with some social worker I have never met before I told them today I wanted to bring mum home with me where she has lived for the last 4 years and they could put a cate plan in place I’ve had no help from them in 4 years and now they are telling me I have to have another meeting a best interest one to decide what’s best for my mum who they know nothing about. I’m not happy it kills me everyday I see her where do I stand with this DoLS am I able to just go and bring her home or will they make me take her back I do much want her back with me any help please
If you are talking about moving mum permanently rather than just coming home for an afternoon this is not related to DOLS, its a matter of deciding where she should live. Hence the proposed best interest meeting and care plan.
Do you have an H&W LPA?
Hi what is a H&W LPA THIS IS ALL NEW TO ME AND CAN THE DOLS STOP ME FROM BRINGING HER HOME AND YES IT WILL BE PERMANENTLY THANK YOU
Hi But can the DoLS stop me that’s in place at the moment because the longer she is away from me the harder it’s going to be for my mum thank you
H&W LPA stands for Health an Welfare Lasting Power of Attorney, a legal document where a person with capacity gives another power to make H&W decisions on their behalf if they become incapable of making the decisions themselves.
A DOLS is Deprivation of Liberty Safeguarding, an order to enable the care home to deprive a person of their liberty to safeguard their safety
If a social worker suspects that your mum may be less safe if you take her home they can call for a formal best interests meeting.
Without a H&W LPA you have little say in this other than present your case (with evidence?) at any best interests meeting.
A DOLS is Deprivation of Liberty Safeguarding, an order to enable the care home to deprive a person of their liberty to safeguard their safety
If a social worker suspects that your mum may be less safe if you take her home they can call for a formal best interests meeting.
Without a H&W LPA you have little say in this other than present your case (with evidence?) at any best interests meeting.
Forget about the DOLS for the moment, it's standard for people in care homes.
A social worker can prevent you from bringing your Mum home if they think it's not in her best interests - hence the meeting. Prepare for it and why you think it's best for her to be home, but don't make Social Services your enemy - it's best to have them on side.
A social worker can prevent you from bringing your Mum home if they think it's not in her best interests - hence the meeting. Prepare for it and why you think it's best for her to be home, but don't make Social Services your enemy - it's best to have them on side.
Hi no I don’t when my mum come to live with me she already had dementia but I was forced in to restpite then I had to leave her there because her legs were bad but now they are ok and I want to bring her home they have never helped me with her I’ve never had a care plan in place and then today a social worker that knows nothing about me or my mum telling me what I can and can’t do all I want is to bring her back with me and her grandsons and I scared the longer she is away the harder it will be for her to come back
A H&W LPA is a Health and Welfare Lasting Power of Attorney, it allows you to speak in matters concerning Health and Welfare on behalf of the person concerned you are allowed to speak on their behalf as they no longer have capacity.
Someone subject to a DoLS can be made to stay in a designated place against their will be it a hospital, nursing home or care home because as the "S" says it's for their own safeguarding.
many of the residents in care with my wife go to relative's home for days at a time, the order allows the home to keep them their not to stop you from taking them out, unless that is there may be a safeguarding issue.
As has been said you need to have the best interest meeting and everyone can have their say but my wife's been under a DoLS for 3 years and sectioned for 6 months and I never had a problem taking her out for the day, but to show I could take her home I would have to show that I was able to do that and care for her at a sufficient standard and to do that I'd need to work with social services not fighting them because I'd need a lot of help from them to do that so I'd want them onside not as the enemy.
K
Hi I did think that but it’s going to be another 3 weeks for the meeting and I had some social worker today telling me what I can and can’t do and she has never ever been and saw me or my mum in the 4 years I have had my mum not once have they ever put a care plan in place to help me mum was on restpite for 3 weeks that I was forced into then I could not bring her home because her legs were bad because she kept roaming around the care home but now they are ok I don’t know how they can say what’s best for her when they don’t even know her
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