Deprivation of liberty safeguards
The following forms are used by care homes and hospitals and can be completed online:
- Form 1- Request for standard authorisation and urgent where necessary
- Form 2 - Further request for authorisation
- Form 4 - Mental health assessors only
- Form 10 - Request for review
- Request for extension of urgent authorisation
The below link will take you to the Adult Social Care portal to create an account and complete the relevant DoLS forms, and show you where you can find help guides on how to use the portal.
ASC Portal
The Adult Social Care Portal is an online tool for submitting forms to us. When using it you'll now be able to save and print the forms after you've submitted them to us.
If you're timed out while completing the form, the information that you've entered into the completed pages of the form will be saved.
What are DoLS?
These safeguards apply to people aged 18 and over in hospitals or care homes who lack the mental capacity to decide to be there. People likely to be affected are those with learning disabilities, or elderly people with dementia, but also a minority of other people who lack capacity to consent to where they receive care or treatment.
Key features
- Hospitals and care homes have to identify the restrictions that they need to have in place to keep someone safe
- If these restrictions (when added together) amount to a deprivation of liberty the hospital or care home must request an authorisation from the supervisory body
- It's unlawful for a hospital or care home to deprive a person of liberty without obtaining an authorisation
What is a deprivation of liberty?
If a person is:
- Not free to leave, and
- Subject to continuous or complete supervision and control
...they will most likely be deprived of liberty.
Many people in hospitals and care homes may have their liberty restricted, but not all will be deprived of their liberty.
Deprivation of liberty in other settings
A deprivation of liberty can happen in any setting. Someone could be cared for in their own home in circumstances that are the same as those described above, or this could happen in supported housing. The safeguards can't be used to authorise this practice. If this situation occurs you can get advice initially from the DoLS Team.
Help and advice
- Briefings about understanding DoLS are available from our Joint Training team
- A poster to guide you through the process is available for care homes and hospitals by contacting the team
- Training is also available from Joint Training
ADASS has published further information about the DoLS forms, with links to them.
Notifying others
CQC
When an initial application for a standard authorisation is made the care home or hospital must notify the CQC. Once the outcome of the application is known the care home or hospital must notify CQC again with the outcome. Forms and guidance for providers about making statutory notification are available on the CQC website.