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Tag: NHS

Introducing Liberty Protection Safeguards

As of 1st April 2022, new Liberty Protection Safeguards (LPS) will be in force.

Many people in the UK who lack the mental capacity to consent to care experience deprivation of liberty. This enables care for those with dementia, autism, learning disabilities, etc.

Significant court cases were a major factor in changing the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) to the Liberty Protection Safeguards (LPS). The supreme court ruled that many people were deprived of their liberty unlawfully. Among its rulings, the court provided an official definition of deprivation of liberty:

"continuous supervision and control ... not free to leave"

Read more about these court cases and the judgement of the supreme court in our Introducing LPS resource.

A huge number of changes will take place this April. For example, the safeguards will apply to people aged 16+ rather than 18+, and there will be a whole new role: Approved Mental Capacity Professionals (AMCPs). You can read more about the differences between DoLS and LPS, and find out what the AMCP role involves in our Introducing LPS resource.

 

Perhaps the most significant change is the streamlined, three-part assessment process.

  1. Capacity Assessment
    Is the individual capable of consenting to care arrangements?
  2. Medical Assessment
    Does the individual have a mental disorder?
  3. Necessary and Proportionate Assessment
    Are the arrangements necessary to prevent harm to the individual?
    Are the arrangements proportionate to the likelihood and seriousness of the risk of harm to the person?

 

If you're looking to provide LPS training, consider:

  • Which members of staff will take on which responsibilities?
  • Should depth of training be based on role and duties?
  • Should all staff receive the same training?
  • How will LPS affect the day-to-day activities of the organisation?
  • How will staff prepare for the transition to LPS?
  • What training do new AMCPs require?

At Advantage Accreditation, we can help you with:

 

Experience

We are an accreditation body with a wealth of experience in health and social care.

 

Educational Resources

Our Mental Capacity training course has been updated to include LPS regulations and guidelines.

 

Quality Assurance

If you already have a Mental Capacity training course, we will assess the quality of your learning materials. This includes checking the validity of information, its impact on learners, and how it is presented.

 

Accreditation

Our seal of approval allows you to become a credible, recognised training provider. You can download certificate featuring our logo and keep a record of training through our online portal.

 

Train the Trainer

With our train the trainer courses, your staff can become licensed trainers for specific subjects.

 

 

Find out more about LPS

Resource

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The NHS Long-Term Plan: What it means for training

NHS Long Term Plan - Advantage AccreditationThe Government published its long-term plan for the NHS this week. We’ve looked at what it means for mandatory, clinical and specialist training for the next decade:

 

Focus on mental health

There has been a huge emphasis on mental health in the media and in politics in recent times, and this has carried over into the NHS. Mental health training features on a number of occasions. There is a recognition in the plan that certain groups of young people are particularly vulnerable to mental health issues, and it says that teams will receive “information and training to help
them support young people more likely to face mental health issues – such as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT+) individuals or children in care”. The plan recognises that “preventative support” is important to help address problems before they have serious repercussions.

The plan also says that ambulance staff will receive training to help deal with people with mental health issues who are “in a crisis”. Some trusts are already doing this, but growing awareness of the scale of mental health problems in the UK and the impact it has on 999 calls means that all ambulance staff will soon be able to help with issues.

Training to improve end of life care

One of the aims of the plan is to “personalise” and “improve” end of life care. This, it says, will mainly be accomplished by training to help staff identify patients’ needs as they head into the final stages of their life. The plan hopes that this will reduce emergency admissions, but the majority of people will see this as a necessary part of a caring modern society.

There is little new about a wish to improve end of life training. Former guidance has included breaking down training into “bite-sized” sessions to build knowledge quickly, as well as role modelling good practice at every opportunity. It will be interesting to see how this new commitment bears out in practice, and whether it will mean mandatory, classroom-based courses for practitioners.

Learning disabilities and autism awareness

The plan states an intent to roll out training in awareness of learning disabilities and/or autism to NHS teams. The plan alludes to a consultation published in 2018, which says that the aim of the training is ultimately to help staff “support people with a learning disability, their families and carers; to ensure that perceptions of learning disability do not prevent a robust assessment of physical health, and that staff can make personalised, reasonable adjustments to care”. The skills and competencies required for this awareness have already been outlined in the Learning Disabilities Core Skills Education and Training Framework.

If this roll-out follow the recommendations included in the consultation, it means that a further consultation on proposals will begin in March this year, as well as an audit on skills in the NHS workforce. The CQC will monitor the uptake of the training from its full introduction.

Dealing with violence

The long-term plan mentions that a programme has already been launched to train staff in how to handle violence. This may include positive behaviour support, de-escalation training, and breakaway techniques. Its inclusion in the plan emphasises that this is a growing problem and such training is here to stay.

Click here to see what courses Advantage Accreditation can support you to deliver.

 

No stop for health and social care integration efforts

The head of NHS England has signalled that there is no intention of ending plans to more closely link the British health and social care systems.

A report from the National Audit Office earlier this year suggested that health and social care integration was not being carried out effectively enough to deliver the desired results, although where it was done well there were undoubtedly benefits.

Addressing the NHS Confederation in Liverpool, Simon Stevens reiterated that the course had not changed, and said that his priority was to end the “fractured” health and social care system, with nine areas covering 7 million people to be targeted as priority areas for integration.

The integration at a local level will be driven by ‘accountable care systems’ (ACSs), which will bring together local NHS organisations with voluntary groups and care organisations. The intention is to build on those local areas where successes have been made, which has had a particular impact on hospital admissions.

Although many will, without debt, criticise some integration efforts, but the evidence from the NAO’s report does suggest that there are benefits when it is done well. Experimenting across different localities may not always be pretty, but we can all acknowledge that our care system needs a shake-up, and we should welcome any moves that improve welfare whilst alleviating burdens on overstretched public services.