Kent hospitals admit failings over Simon Willson death – BBC News
‘Two NHS trusts have admitted failures in the care of a father of two who was found hanged in a hospital toilet.’
BBC News, 3rd April 2014
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Category: mental health
Housing benefit changes distress disabled people, say MPs – BBC News
‘Changes to housing benefit in England, Scotland and Wales are creating “financial hardship and distress” for disabled people, MPs have warned.’
BBC News, 2nd April 2014
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
TW v Enfield London Borough Council – WLR Daily
TW v Enfield London Borough Council [2014] EWCA Civ 362; [2014] WLR (D) 145
‘When an approved social worker was considering whether it was “reasonably practicable” to consult the “nearest relative” before making an application to admit a patient, pursuant to sections 3(1) and 13(1) of the Mental Health Act 1983, section 11(4) of the Act imposed on that social worker an obligation to strike a balance between the patient’s right under article 5 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms not to be detained unless it was done by a procedure that was in accordance with the law and the patient’s right to a private life under article 8.’
WLR Daily, 27th March 2014
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
Deprivation of liberty – time to rip up the DOLS regime and start again – Halsbury’s Law Exchange
‘The dust is now beginning to settle, slightly, after the earthquake that was the decision of the Supreme Court in the conjoined appeals of Cheshire West and P and Q, which extends the criteria for determining whether living arrangements made for mentally incapacitated individuals amount to a deprivation of liberty.’
Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 25th March 2014
Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk
Jury gives open verdict on teenager who died after ‘relationship with star’ – The Guardian
‘There were “shortcomings” in the care given to a teenager who died in a psychiatric unit after allegedly being pressured by a male celebrity into sexual activity, an inquest jury has concluded.’
The Guardian, 26th March 2014
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Blankley v Central Manchester and Manchester Children’s University Hospitals NHS Trust – WLR Daily
‘The termination of a solicitor’s actual authority by reason of a client’s supervening mental incapacity did not, it itself, automatically frustrate the underlying contract of retainer.’
WLR Daily, 5th February 2014
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
P (by his litigation friend the Official Solicitor) (Appellant) v Cheshire West and Chester Council and another (Respondents); P and Q (by their litigation friend, the Official Solicitor) (Appellants) v Surrey County Council (Respondent) – Supreme Court
Supreme Court, 19th March 2014
Surrey County Council v P and others (Equality and Human Rights Commission and others intervening); Cheshire West and Chester Council v P and another (Same intervening) – WLR Daily
‘Mentally incapacitated persons had the same rights to liberty as everyone else, and if their living arrangements would amount to a deprivation of liberty of a capacitous person they were also a deprivation of liberty of the incapacitated person, who was therefore entitled to periodic independent checks to ensure that the deprivation of liberty remained justified in his or her best interests.’
WLR Daily, 19th March 2014
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
Mental Capacity Act 2005 – a damning report – Halsbury’s Law Exchange
‘The House of Lords Select Committee appointed to undertake post-legislative scrutiny of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA 2005) has now reported. After a mammoth evidence gathering exercise (the transcripts of the oral evidence received and the written evidence submitted ran to almost 2,000 pages), the Committee has provided a damning report upon almost all aspects of the (lack of) implementation of the MCA 2005.’
Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 17th March 2014
Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk
Independent Police Complaints Commission plans overhaul after review – BBC News
‘The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) is to overhaul the way it investigates deaths at the hands of police in England and Wales.’
BBC News, 17th March 2014
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Dunhill v Burgin (Nos 1 and 2) – WLR Daily
Dunhill v Burgin (Nos 1 and 2): [2014] UKSC 18; [2014] WLR (D) 122
‘The test of capacity to conduct proceedings for the purpose of CPR Pt 21 was the capacity to conduct the claim or cause of action which the claimant in fact had, rather than the claim as formulated by her lawyers. A consent order based on the settlement of a claim by a claimant who lacked capacity and did not have a litigation friend was not valid even though the claimant was legally represented.’
WLR Daily, 12th March 2014
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
Not sex discrimination to dismiss employee for post-natal depression absence after maternity leave finished, says UK EAT – OUT-LAW.com
‘It was neither sex discrimination nor discrimination related to pregnancy or maternity leave to dismiss an employee for excessive absences due to post-natal depression that took place after her maternity leave had ended, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has found.’
OUT-LAW.com, 12th March 2014
Source: www.out-law.com
Vulnerable people ‘being kept prisoner in care homes’ – The Guardian
‘Tens of thousands of the most vulnerable patients are effectively being kept prisoner in care homes and hospitals through misuse of mental health laws, a damning House of Lords investigation has found.’
The Guardian, 13th March 2014
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
Boy fed nine litres of goat milk a day cannot stay with his mother, court rules – The Independent
‘A boy who was fed nine litres of goat’s milk a day for six months will not be allowed to live with his mother, a senior family court judge has ruled.’
The Independent, 6th March 2014
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Shrien Dewani extradited to South Africa ‘within 28 days’ – BBC News
‘A man accused of arranging the murder of his wife on their honeymoon has lost his latest appeal against extradition.’
BBC News, 3rd March 2014
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Rape of vulnerable women ‘has been effectively decriminalised’ – The Independent
‘Rape of vulnerable women, especially those with learning difficulties, has effectively been “decriminalised”, according to a research academic employed by the country’s largest police force.’
The Independent, 28th February 2014
Source: www.independent.co.uk
