Rather than starting with the question of how AB might be restrained, she insisted that thought be given first to how to avoid putting AB in situations where restraint might become necessary.
Tag Archives: Human Rights
Contesting deprivation of liberty post-AGNI: Not a marginal case but “the very exemplar of why the state is under an obligation to provide safeguards”, says HHJ Hilder
BW is objecting as loudly and frequently as her condition enables her to do. I agree with Ms Butler-Cole that this is not a marginal situation. This is the very exemplar of why the state is under an obligation to provide safeguards.
P’s objections to early evening curfew are “compelling” evidence of deprivation of liberty after AGNI
judicial decisions about whether or not P is deprived of liberty are turning out to be problematic for a court that is said to aspire to transparency with regard to the way in which judges are arriving at their decisions. This case provided more information than most, but still left me with questions and concerns.
Reducing restrictions for a person deprived of his liberty: internet use, access to services and ensuring appropriate support
Senior Judge Hilder (and the OS) seemed very familiar with how difficult it can be to ensure that organisations follow through on their responsibility and how easily a timetable can slip.
A remarkable turnaround: Updating the “vile judgment” case
By October 2025, the local authority had concluded that 24-hour live-in care was no longer necessary and sought court approval to replace it with four daily care visits supported by assistive technology. The court agreed, bringing an end to all restrictions on contact between Caroline and her mother.
Fit to discharge or fit to section?
The family members are adamant that the new care providers are “the worst agency they’ve been involved with” and report receiving somewhere between 50 and 100 distress calls each day from P in which she begs them to prevent her having to go home with those carers. Their view is that if P returns home with this care provider, then her quality of life at home would be no better than her remaining in hospital.
What happens to restricted patients after AGNI? SJ Hilder considers the consequences
At first sight, this appeared to be a straightforward example of the post-AGNI legal framework in practice. The applicant local authority invited the court to discharge the COPDOL order. But there was a complication. The P in this case is a “restricted patient”, living in the community under “conditional discharge”.
Iatrogenic harm and the Court of Protection
Court proceedings can cause unintended harm to the person at the centre of the case (“P”) as well as to P’s family, and to P’s wider support network….
Anorexia, declaratory protection and the Mental Health Act: Ventilating a jurisdictional question following Townsend
Given the likelihood of an upcoming Supreme Court hearing, it may be that Townsend provides a very slender thread on which to base the Trust’s argument – or indeed, on which to delay determination of P’s best interests by first detouring down what might turn out to be a jurisdictional cul-de-sac over the next six weeks.
Fit for discharge and still in hospital five months later due to delay with eating and drinking plan – updated after 12th May 2026 hearing
There’ s a deceptively simple solution to enable P to leave hospital – the development of an eating and drinking plan – but a complex web of responsibilities for making that happen, involving multiple public bodies, multiple teams, and multiple people
