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…
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
Key COVID-19 legal developments in the health sector: Changes to the Mental Health Act (MHA), and the power to detain and isolate By Gill Weatherill, Sarah Woods Schedule 7 of the Coronavirus Bill includes changes to the MHA with significant implications for…
The Coronavirus Act: implications for mental health providers By Gill Weatherill, Helen Kingston, Sarah Woods Schedule 8 of the Coronavirus Act 2020 (C…
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 2019 By Gill Weatherill Attitudes to mental health and wellbeing are going through a major change…
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: 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…
How the Mental Capacity (Amendment) Bill will improve the protection of vulnerable people By Gill Weatherill The Mental Capacity (Amendment) Bill is the Government response to widespread recognition that the…
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…
How a lack of funding is forcing the mental health sector to evolve By Gill Weatherill Mental health services are enduring huge pressures in an increasingly stretched NHS…
Change ahead for the Mental Health Act? Interim report gives flavour of what's to come By Gill Weatherill, Sarah Woods, Summary The Mental Health Act - and the broader mental health system which surrounds it - is…
Developments in Children's Continuing Care: CCGs to be subject to SEND Tribunal recommendations By Gill Weatherill, On 3 April 2018 a two year national trial began which extends the powers of the Tribunal for…
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…
Breaking new ground: Stroke patient allowed to die By Gill Weatherill, Paul McGough Summary The Court of Protection has authorised the withdrawal of clinically assisted nutrition…
The latest on when you need to go to Court before withdrawing treatment By Gill Weatherill, Sarah Woods, Summary A common dilemma for those making decisions about withdrawal of treatment is whether to…
Court of Protection gives green light to experimental treatment abroad By Gill Weatherill, Paul McGough With the much publicised Charlie Gard case still fresh in people's minds, the issue of when it is…
Prison Suicides: What can the Courts do? By Peter Merchant, Gill Weatherill Self-inflicted deaths in prisons are at record levels. The figures make stark reading…
Caldicott Guardians training and consultancy By Helen Kingston, Gill Weatherill As lawyers who frequently advise NHS Trusts, Local Authorities and Independent Organisations on…
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'…
Consent Revisited By Gill Weatherill A patient-focused approach to consent for medical treatment has been required by the law ever since…
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…
Sanctity of Life v Self-Determination - Where Does the Balance Lie for Minimally Conscious State Patients? By Gill Weatherill The recent Court of Protection case of Lindsey Briggs v Paul Briggs brings into sharp focus 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…
Law Commission publishes Interim Statement on Reforming the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards By Gill Weatherill, Paul McGough The Law Commission has published an Interim Statement setting out its current thinking on reform of…
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…
Deprivation of Liberty and Conditional Discharge By Gill Weatherill The court has ruled that it is possible for restricted patients who lack capacity to be…
Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards: Proposals for law reform By Gill Weatherill The Law Commission has today launched a long-awaited period of consultation regarding Mental…
Minimally conscious state, withdrawal of medical treatment By Gill Weatherill, Corinne Slingo The court has emphasised once again the strong presumption in favour of preserving life and the…
Mental Capacity Act: Law Society's Deprivation of Liberty Guidance By Gill Weatherill, Paul McGough The Law Society has published its 'Identifying a deprivation of liberty: a practical guide' which…
Deprivation of Liberty in an Independent Living Environment in the Community By Gill Weatherill, Paul McGough One of the main consequences of the Supreme Court's decision in the Cheshire West ( P v Cheshire…
The Care Act 2014 - May 2014 By Corinne Slingo, Tracey Longfield, Gill Weatherill The Care Act 2014 came onto the statute books on 14 May 2014…
Deprivation of Liberty: Applying the decision in the Cheshire West case in an Acute Hospital Trust setting: incapacitated, compliant patients in hospital By Gill Weatherill The recent decision of the Supreme Court in the Cheshire West case has redefined the legal test for…
Department of Health Guidance following Cheshire West - March 2014 By Gill Weatherill Introduction The Department of Health has issued guidance for health and social care…
Health and social care implementation of Mental Capacity Act and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards criticised by House of Lords committee By Gill Weatherill, Paul McGough A House of Lords committee tasked with scrutinising the impact of the MCA has produced a report…
