The intention of the transparency order is to protect the person’s privacy and this is what many people who become “P”s in the Court of Protection want (or would have wanted). For others, though, their Article 8 right to privacy may be outweighed by the competing interest of their Article 10 to right to freedom of speech and open scrutiny of the circumstances in which they have been placed.
Tag Archives: Best Interests
A parent’s reflection on “Michael” – a young man with complex needs and no suitable placement
I have been my son’s care coordinator for many years. In our experience there is little or no communication between agencies. Even though I worked in health and social care services for years, I found that the system is like a maze and sourcing every provision has been a battle. Young people fall through the net. I hope adult services offer Michael the chance of stability and safety in his life and suggest that the next care coordinator ensures that his voice is heard and his family are involved.
An unsuitable placement approved by the Court
The decision of the court was to move him, that afternoon, to yet another placement which – counsel had acknowledged from the outset – is not really suitable for him. It was a disappointing outcome. As the judge said in his oral judgment: “None of this seems to me to be entirely satisfactory”.
Inviting family into the decision-making process
“I watched as Mr Justice Hayden, with calmness, clarity and compassion deconstructed this fallacy, with the simple but sensitive prompt of “making the decision for him, not for you”. I flatter myself that I have effective communication skills but admit to being unexpectedly moved by watching the judge in action.”
Deprivation of Liberty at an Urgent Hearing
By Caroline Hanman[1] – 17th November 2020 The person at the centre of this hearing (pseudonymised as “Michael” in this post) is a young man under the age of 18. He’s autistic and he has learning difficulties and ADHD (“attention deficit hyperactivity disorder”). He sometimes exhibits challenging behaviour which on occasion has resulted in physical injury toContinue reading “Deprivation of Liberty at an Urgent Hearing”
Privacy, Capacity, and the Judge’s Communication Skills
“Hayden J has been at the forefront of ensuring that the voice of P is heard in the Court of Protection and that P is included in the hearing about them as much as is feasible… This hearing embodied that, with Hayden J taking the lead in ensuring that Ms P’s voice was not only heard but that she fully understood the proceedings. “
Should life-sustaining treatment be continued?
“Nine public observers attended (via MS Teams) an all-day hearing in the Court of Protection before Mr Justice Poole (COP 1353507, 30 October 2020) concerning whether or not life-sustaining treatment should be continued…”
From black letter law to real-life decision making
Editor’s note: This is a report of a later hearing in the same case as the one covered in a previous blog here. By Lucy Williams, 29 October 2020 I am studying a module on Health Care Law at the University of York. We explore how decision-making capacity is determined on the basis of the Mental Capacity ActContinue reading “From black letter law to real-life decision making”
Where P should live
“One of the most relevant and pleasing aspects of the hearings has been the evident attention paid to the involvement of P in proceedings. Although P did not attend any of these hearings, what did come across and was clearly conveyed was a real sense of P as an individual and what their views, wishes and feelings were/are in relation to the life-matters affecting them.”
Influencing ‘best interests’ decisions: An eloquent incapacitious P
“Many of us may be deemed by the courts to lack capacity to make key decisions about our own lives at a point where we believe ourselves entitled to make decisions for ourselves – indeed the very loss of insight that can come with brain injury may render us completely unable to recognise our own limitations. Like Mr G, we may fight (and lose) an argument that we are capacitous.”
Promoting Open Justice in the Court of Protection 