Introducing Liberty Protection Safeguards

One of the CQC's Key Lines of Enquiry focuses on being 'Effective'. Within the Effective KLOE, we must ensure we are providing timely, compassionate care that is consented to by the patient to promote their health and wellbeing.

The patient’s mental capacity is an important part of this, and it determines decision making and helps to provide the best outcome for patients. As an organisation, we support all our staff to make decisions about patient care within the relevant guidance and legislation that covers mental capacity.

Introducing Liberty Protection Safeguards (LPS)
Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) was a government legislation which ensured that those who could not consent to their care arrangements, whether in a care home or hospital, were protected if those arrangements deprived them of their liberty.

Back in May 2019, the Government passed a Mental Capacity (Amendment) Bill to replace DoLS with Liberty Protection Safeguards (LPS).

The LPS work in the same way as DoLS but are more streamlined. They also broaden the scope to treat people, and deprive them of their liberty, in a medical emergency without gaining prior authorisation.

Key features of the LPS are:

• LPS apply from the age of 16
• LPS must be authorised in advance by the ‘responsible body’ (You can find out more about 'responsible bodies in our LPS Rapid Read.)
• For an authorisation to be imposed, it needs to be clear that:

1. The individual lacks the capacity to consent to the care arrangements
2. The individual has a mental health disorder
3. It is necessary to prevent harm to the cared for person and proportionate to the likelihood and seriousness of that harm.

• Safeguards include regular reviews by the responsible body and the right to an appropriate person or an Independent Mental Capacity Advocate (IMCA) to represent a person and protect their interests
• As with DoLS, a deprivation can be for a maximum of one year. After that time, LPS can be renewed for an additional year, and subsequently for up to three years
• Again, as with DoLS the Court of Protection will oversee any disputes or appeals.

When will things change?
The predicted date for implementation is April 2022 and during that time DoLS will run parallel to LPS for a year to ease the transition of existing cases.

Prior to the formal implementation, and following a 12-week consultation, both a single Mental Capacity Act and LPS Code of Practice with regulations, will be laid before Parliament and subsequently published.

Please look out for a number of LPS rapid read articles that will be shared over the coming weeks prior to the implementation of the new act.

More information
If you need additional support or guidance on this subject, the Clinical Advice Line is available 24/7 on: or you can email more general enquiries to the Safeguarding team.

The following link is to a webinar which was held earlier this year by the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) and contains useful background to LPS as well as a set of Q&A’s. https://www.scie.org.uk/mca/lps/webinar20210426#qa

Published 9th November 2021