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Dementia and the Law

Edited by Tony Harrop-Griffiths · Jonathan Cowen · Christine Cooper · Rhys Hadden · Angela Hodes · Victoria Flowers · Steven Fuller
LexisNexis U.K. January 2014

Specifications

ISBN-13
9781846617560
Publisher
LexisNexis U.K.
Publication
January 2014
Format
Paperback
Jurisdiction
U.K. ? Countri(es) for reference only

Details

This book addresses a wide range of legal issues that arise in respect of people suffering from dementia, setting out the law in a clear and accessible form. Starting from the initial stages of obtaining information, the book follows a logical sequence through: the powers under the Mental Health Act 1983 (MHA); rights to assessment, treatment and care services; the Mental Capacity Act 2005; financial deputies and attorneys; and care funding, before concluding with a detailed section on the remedies which may be deployed to resolve disputes in these areas.

The first section of the book deals with legal issues that arise at the time of diagnosis and in the period when the dementia begins to have a significant impact on the person’s life. Access to information about a person with dementia is a particularly complex problem and one that the Alzheimer’s Society is regularly asked about. The rights and duties of disclosure of personal data and medical information are set out in this context. The powers to detain a person with dementia under the MHA are explained as is the role given to the nearest relative. This section concludes with a chapter on the three different types of assessment that will commonly be applicable to a person with dementia. These are (i) capacity assessments under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA); (ii) continuing healthcare assessments; and (iii) assessment for local authority services.

The second section of the book focuses on legal issues surrounding the care provided to a person with dementia. The concept of ‘best interests’ is explained at the start of this section along with the legal approach under the MCA to making decisions for the person with dementia (such as when to deprive that person of his or her liberty, for example). The rights to receive a particular medical treatment and to refuse treatment are set out before turning to the legal issues surrounding care services provided by the local authority, this includes both care services in the home and those provided in residential care homes. 

The third section of the book considers property and financial issues affecting those with dementia. The legal processes, powers and obligations of attorneys and financial deputies are set out and explained in context along with practical information about the most common problems (such as the sale of property, for example). This section concludes with a chapter covering issues concerning the funding of care. These include aftercare under the MHA, continuing health care, individual budgets and direct payments and self-funding.

The final section of the book concentrates on the remedies available when disputes arise as they are likely to apply to a person suffering from dementia. The first chapter in this section deals with the informal processes available, up to and including a complaint to the relevant Ombudsman. Alternative methods of dispute resolution can be particular important where there is a need for on-going care services and these are explained before turning to the substantive remedies available through proceedings in the Court of Protection and applications for judicial review. 

This book covers both England and Wales to include additional reference wherever the law differs in Wales.

Table of Contents

Section 1: Diagnosis and Assessment

Access and rights to personal information

  • Access to personal information
  • Requesting personal information on behalf of others
  • Duty to report information
  • Reporting risks

Hospitalisation and sectioning

  • Powers under the Mental Health 1983 Act and Mental Capacity Act 2005
  • Detention for assessment in hospital under the Mental Health Act 1983
  • Detention for treatment under the Mental Health Act 1983
  • Section 117 - After-care
  • Challenging a section
  • What happens when a section expires
  • Guardianship 

Rights to assessments

  • Assessment of Mental Capacity
  • When should capacity be assessed
  • Who should assess capacity?
  • Reasonable belief of lack of capacity
  • When will a formal assessment of capacity be necessary?
  • Standardised tests for assessing capacity
  • Assessment of social needs
  • Regarding capacity
  • Regarding continuing healthcare
  • Regarding local authority care services

 

Section 2: Care

Welfare and best interests

  • What are welfare decisions?
  • Best interests
  • Deprivation of Liberty
  • Safety measures established under the MCA
  • Powers of Attorney regarding personal welfare
  • Welfare Deputies and the Court of Protection

NHS Care and Treatment

  • NHS responsibilities - overview
  • Dementia and the NHS  
  • Continuing healthcare
  • Joint packages of care
  • NHS-funded nursing care

Local Authority Care 

  • Service Provision decision
  • Prioritising need
  • Care and Support Bill

Carers

  • The statues
  • Care and Support Bill

 

Section 3: Property and Finance

Lasting and Enduring Powers of Attorney 

  • What is a Power of Attorney?
  • Obligations of an Attorney
  • Enduring Powers of Attorney
  • Lasting Powers of Attorney - the legal process

Property and Affairs in the Court of Protection

  • Jurisdiction
  • Application to the Court of Protection
  • Financial deputies
  • Deputies' obligations
  • Financial abuse

Funding for care services

  • Care at Home
  • Residential care
  • Proposed Reforms

 

Section 4: Remedies

Challenging decisions and making complaints 

  • Complaints

Resolving disputes - Mediation and Alternative Dispute Resolution

  • Alternative Dispute Resolution
  • Mediation
  • What characteristics of the process make a mediation succeed?
  • Other types of ADR

Remedies in the Court of Protection

  • What can the Court of Protection do?
  • Will the decisions of the Court of Protection be made public?
  • Costs

Judicial Review

  • What is Judicial Review?
  • Matters that may limit the bringing of judicial review claims
  • Judicial review: How does the court make its decision
  • Time limits and standing
  • Limited scope of judicial review
  • Challenging decisions of public bodies - grounds for judicial review
  • The procedure for judicial review
  • Applications for interim relief
  • What judges take into account in making their decisions
  • Costs
  • Relationship between proceedings in the Court of Protection and judicial review

Other Court Proceedings

  • Using the inherent jurisdiction of the High Court
  • Litigation capacity in civil proceedings
  • Professional negligence claims
  • Damages for breach of human rights
  • Discrimination
  • Reasonable and provisions of auxiliary aids
  • Contractual disputes
  • Personal Injury claims
  • Funding a claim

Statutory Materials

About the Author

Tony Harrop-GriffithsJonathan CowenChristine CooperRhys HaddenAngela Hodes,Victoria Flowers all barristers at Field Court Chambers and Steven Fuller Advisory Lawyer at the Department of Health

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