Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) Assessments

The Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) provide a legal framework for the deprivation of liberty for people who lack the mental capacity to make decisions about their accommodation and care arrangements themselves. They apply to people who are in hospital or residential/nursing care (the managing authority) and who are subject to restrictions and restraints in their lives, for example, not being free to leave or requiring continual supervision.

Local Authorities are required to arrange an assessment of an individual's circumstances to determine whether the accommodation the care provided is in their best interests to protect them from harm, whether it is necessary and proportionate and to determine if there is a less restrictive alternative. The requirement of this service is for the provision of assessments to establish whether a person in hospital, care home or nursing home requires Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) authorisation. Assessors will be required to visit the relevant person requiring assessment in their care setting, which may be a hospital ward, care home or nursing home, in order to conduct a face-to-face assessment.