How will CQC assess ICSs? - what we know so far By Gill Weatherill, Corinne Slingo, Charlotte Radcliffe, Anna Hart The CQC now has new powers (since 1 April 2023) to assess Integrated Care Systems (ICSs)…
Prevention of Future Deaths Reports in inquests - what are the recurring themes for health and social care? By Gill Weatherill, Tracey Longfield, Louise Wiltshire, Gemma Brannigan The purpose of Prevention of Future Deaths Reports (PFDs) issued by coroners is to bring about…
Challenging the fairness of CQC reports: latest from the courts By Gill Weatherill, Anna Hart, Corinne Slingo Health and social care providers will be acutely aware that poor ratings in CQC inspection reports…
CQC clamps down on mental capacity By Gill Weatherill, Sarah Woods, In a stark reminder to all health and social care providers of the importance of getting it right…
Farewell ‘serious incidents’, hello PSIRF: a new era dawns for patient safety By Sean Doherty, Gill Weatherill, Stuart Wallace Providers of NHS-funded care have almost 12 months from now to radically change the way they…
Mental Health Bill - thoughts on the proposals By Helen Kingston, Gill Weatherill, Sarah Woods The government has now published the draft Mental Health Bill following the consultation on…
Prevention of Future Deaths Reports – a look at themes By Peter Merchant, Louise Wiltshire, Tracey Longfield, Gill Weatherill The steady flow of Prevention of Future Deaths Reports (PFDs) issued by coroners to health and…
New rules on use of force in mental health units - are you ready? By Gill Weatherill, Sarah Woods, Paul McGough From 31 March 2022, new statutory obligations aimed at preventing inappropriate use of force will…
A solution to the community deprivation of liberty dilemma at last? By Gill Weatherill, Helen Kingston, Sarah Woods, The question of whether and how adults with mental capacity can be deprived of their liberty in the…
Health and Care Bill 2021: Statutory patient safety investigations at last? By Tracey Longfield, Corinne Slingo, Gill Weatherill Plans to create a statutory footing for the Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch (‘HSIB’) have…
Mental health provision in a post-pandemic world By Gill Weatherill To say the past two years have been a testing time for population wellbeing and mental health would…
Mental Health Act reforms - What’s being taken forward and what’s not? By Gill Weatherill, Helen Kingston, Sarah Woods The government has now published its response to the consultation it ran earlier this year on its…
Security guards in A&E: A reminder that context is everything By Gill Weatherill Judgment was recently handed down in the tragic case of Leanne Walsh (as Administratrix of the…
Latest on use of force in mental health units - have your say By Gill Weatherill, Sarah Woods The Mental Health Units (Use of Force) Act 2018 was given Royal Assent two and a half years ago but…
A new delivery model for mental health By Gill Weatherill While the events of 2020 and beyond have turned all aspects of healthcare on their head, few areas…
Remote Mental Health Act Assessments to Stop with Immediate Effect By Gill Weatherill, Helen Kingston, Sarah Woods The Court has now considered the question of whether Mental Health Act assessments by AMHPs and…
A short guide to the key COVID-19 legal developments in the health sector By Corinne Slingo, Gill Weatherill, Udara Ranasinghe, Hamza Drabu, Charlotte Burnett, Alistair Robertson In light of the national COVID19 emergency, our health sector clients are under enormous pressure,…
Key COVID-19 legal developments in the health sector: Key Issues for MH providers By Gill Weatherill, Sarah Woods Providers are dealing with many challenges in managing the legal and regulatory framework with…
E-mailing MHA forms: Making sense of the changes coming soon By Gill Weatherill, Sarah Woods With a view to moving with the times and reflecting our increasing reliance on technology in light…
Key COVID-19 legal developments in the health sector: MHA process guidance By Gill Weatherill, Sarah Woods Covid-19 MHA process guidance: SOADs, Forensics and Mental Health Tribunals
CQC Monitoring the Mental Health Act 2018/19 By Gill Weatherill, On 6 February 2020, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) published their monitoring report on the use…
Mental Healthcare Report: compulsion versus autonomy By Gill Weatherill Mental health professionals welcome the main thrust of legislative reforms to provide the ‘least…
Mental Healthcare Report: from hospital to the community By Gill Weatherill Years of hospital bed closures and policy changes have already seen a significant shift of patients…
Mental Healthcare Report: children and young people By Gill Weatherill The NHS Long Term Plan puts great emphasis on the need to improve access to mental healthcare for…
Mental Healthcare Report 2019 By Gill Weatherill Attitudes to mental health and wellbeing are going through a major change…
Mental Healthcare Report: report summary By Gill Weatherill The mental health landscape is changing rapidly, and the potential for improvements in access, care…
Can mental health support teams help with the surge in demand for services within UK schools? By Gill Weatherill Schools will soon begin piloting a scheme that will see support teams work with children in a bid…
Replacing the DoLS regime - End in sight? By Paul McGough, Gill Weatherill, Sarah Woods The long road to replacing the current Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) has just passed…
CQC’s revamped factual accuracy check guidance: What’s new? By Tracey Longfield, Gill Weatherill, Corinne Slingo, Anna Hart The 10 day period for commenting on the factual accuracy of draft Care Quality Commission (CQC)…
Digital healthcare technology: mental health By Hamza Drabu, Gill Weatherill How the mental health sector is leading the way in technology helping vulnerable patients…
Where to draw the line between protecting the vulnerable and respecting their autonomy? Developing role of the court’s inherent jurisdiction By Gill Weatherill, Paul McGough, Those with an interest in the reach and extent of safeguarding responsibilities may already be…
MCA Breaches: Paying the Price? By Gill Weatherill, Paul McGough, Sarah Woods Not following Mental Capacity Act (MCA) requirements can amount to false imprisonment giving rise…
Use of Force in Mental Health Units - Impact of New Legislation? By Gill Weatherill, Sarah Woods, Paul McGough With the push to minimise use of patient restraint in the mental health context remaining high on…
The NHS Long Term Plan - Mental Health By Gill Weatherill Following on from our alert on the legislative changes set out within the Plan we consider the…
CTOs and Deprivation of Liberty - Supreme Court Decides By Gill Weatherill, Helen Kingston, Sarah Woods, We now have the Supreme Court conclusion to the long-running issue of Community Treatment Orders…
New, wide-ranging guidance on CANH decisions: what do you need to know? By Gill Weatherill, Sarah Woods, Paul McGough DAC Beachcroft explore how all clinicians, NHS Trusts, CCGs and independent healthcare providers…
Mental Health Act Review - Impact in Practice? By Gill Weatherill, Helen Kingston, Sarah Woods What does the future hold for the Mental Health Act? With the full report of the…
Latest on when to go to court in 'no dispute' treatment cases By Gill Weatherill, Paul McGough Although the Supreme Court decided earlier this year in 'Y' that it is not mandatory to seek court…
Key changes from the new CHC framework By Paul McGough, Gill Weatherill, Sarah Woods The new CHC national framework came into effect from 1 October…
Replacing the DoLS regime: Another step closer? By Gill Weatherill, Paul McGough The push to replace the existing deprivation of liberty safeguards (DoLS) regime has recently taken…
70 years of the NHS: the future of mental health services By Gill Weatherill Throughout the 70-year lifespan of the NHS, mental health services have evolved in line with the…
Changes to NHS Continuing Healthcare Framework: Is your CCG ready? By Gill Weatherill, Paul McGough As of 1 October 2018, the national framework which sets out how decisions are made about NHS…
New interim guidance on CANH withdrawal By Gill Weatherill, Paul McGough, Sarah Woods Summary Following a flurry of recent court decisions, the British Medical Association, General…
Legal update for Caldicott Guardians training by DAC Beachcroft LLP By Gill Weatherill, Helen Kingston, Sophie Devlin What is covered? The legal and ethical framework affecting Caldicott Guardians is rapidly…
Place of Safety changes from 11 December - Are you ready? By Gill Weatherill, Sarah Woods Ever since the Policing & Crime Act 2017 came onto the statute books earlier this year, we have…
Observing religious practices for those lacking capacity By Gill Weatherill, Paul McGough The extent to which religious practices should be observed for adults lacking capacity can give…
The erosion of patient confidentiality? By Gill Weatherill, Stuart Keyden Summary In a potentially far-reaching judgment which appears to extend the recent trend in…
Best interests decision-makers limited to options on the table agrees Supreme Court By Gill Weatherill Summary The Supreme Court has today published its judgment in the important 'available options'…
Introducing the 'Liberty Protection Safeguards' - Latest on Reforming DoLS By Gill Weatherill Summary The Law Commission has today published its final report on recommendations for reforming…
Delay applying to Court of Protection at your peril By Gill Weatherill The Court of Protection has recently given a strongly worded reminder to Trusts not to delay…
ICU patients not deprived of their liberty says the Court of Appeal By Gill Weatherill Ever since the deprivation of liberty 'acid test' was introduced by the Supreme Court in the…
Section 117 Aftercare – Case update on impact of alternative funding sources By Gill Weatherill Section 117 of the Mental Health Act 1983 (MHA) sets out the legal duties on Local Authorities and…
New Form for Community DoL Applications By Gill Weatherill The Court of Protection is introducing a new form for Community Deprivation of Liberty applications…
Covert Medication – Guidance from the Court of Protection By Gill Weatherill A recent Court of Protection case (AG) provides guidance on the use of covert medication for people…
Challenging Hospital Managers' Panel Decisions By Gill Weatherill We look at the impact of a recent case which clarifies the options open to Trusts where there is…
Sharing medical records and the Data Protection Act: Issues for Insurers By Gill Weatherill The issue of sharing patient data and records is common across medical organisations, within the…
