Liberty Protection Safeguards delayed

The Department of Health and Social Care announced in December 2021 that the implementation of the Liberty Protection Safeguards would not go ahead in April 2022 as planned.

In a letter from Helen Tabiner, Deputy Director – Service Quality, Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to the LPS Steering Group, it was acknowledged that the LPS were a complicated set of reforms and without adequate time to prepare, implementation will not be a success. There will be a public consultation on the draft regulations and draft Code of Practice for the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) and the LPS and this will last for 12 weeks.

In anticipation of the LPS being implemented, people are being encouraged to continue to improve their MCA practice. Free training is available on MCA to anyone who works or volunteers in Newcastle. This is available via Teams or e-learning.

The Social Care Institute of Excellence (SCIE) have also produced a short film about the LPS which provides further information on the changes that are anticipated.