The Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards is the procedure prescribed in law when it is necessary to deprive of their liberty a resident or patient in a care home or hospital setting who lacks capacity to consent to their care and treatment in order to keep them safe from harm.
It is the responsibility of the Managing Authority (the setting in which the person is being deprived of their liberty) to request an authorisation from the Supervisory Body (the Local Authority), although the supervisory body does have a Positive Duty to respond to potential deprivations regardless of this. The Supervisory Body must then respond to the request and complete all of the required Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards Assessments in order to determine whether a DoLS is appropriate before proceeding to authorise it.
The Best Interest Assessor recommends the length of time that a particular DoLS should be authorised for, taking into account the specific circumstances and how long it may take to implement any measures recommended. The DoLS can be authorised for less than the recommended time but never more. The longest amount of time a DoLS can be authorised without review for is 12 months. Reviews can be requested at any time by the person, the setting or the Relevant Person’s Representative. An appeal can be made against any Deprivation of Liberty Safeguard by the person or their RPR to the Court of Protection.
The Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards do not apply when a person is subject to a Deprivation of Liberty in the Community.