Alzheimer’s Society comment… An article published by Baroness Judith Jolly, Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Health, highlights that a backlog of Deprivation of Libery Safeguards (DoLS) assessments means over 100,000 people may not be having their rights upheld.
The article also demonstrates that this issue has a disproportionate impact on people with dementia, as the complex nature of the disease means a DoLS assessment by someone with limited training or time can mean the wrong care plan is put in place.
Sally Copley, Director of Policy and Campaigns at Alzheimer’s Society, commented in response to the article: “It is disgraceful that over 100,000 people, many of them living with dementia, could be having their freedom restricted. Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) are an essential part of protecting the rights of people with dementia, and the system in which they operate must be given the resources it needs to do that.
“The proposed reform of this broken system is great in theory, but as Baroness Jolly highlights, currently we’re just not equipped to deliver that in practice. A million people in the UK will be living with dementia by 2021, all needing and deserving good care and support. Alzheimer’s Society is campaigning to fix dementia care because we need urgent action if the system is going to meet that challenge.”
