The Supreme Court judgment is a significant development in case law. The judgment establishes a new approach to establishing whether a person may be deprived of their liberty.

The judgment has immediate effect. 

This means that providers need to familiarise themselves with this legal development and adjust their practice accordingly. We recognise that this judgment may lead to questions about how the different factors should be interpreted and applied in practice. Where appropriate, providers may need to obtain legal advice to ensure that they are compliant with the law while they are waiting for any official guidance to be published. We will therefore adopt a proportionate approach in our assessments while we work with partners in the health and care system to determine the practical impact of this revised position"

At the time of writing, we do not yet have guidance from the DHSC as to how the decision is to be applied however the team here at WMCA are monitoring the situation and will update our members as soon as possible. 

We have also reached out to your DoLS teams for any local updates. 

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