Sometimes it’s impossible to report meaningfully on a case without conveying information that makes it “likely” that the person at the centre of the case can be identified.
Tag Archives: Mental Capacity
Improving P’s quality of life pending a s.21A change in residence
By Celia Kitzinger, 28th October 2022 The person at the centre of the case (I’ll call him “Peter”) is a 71-year-old man who is held against his will in a care home that is not meeting his needs. It’s a Section 21A deprivation of liberty case (COP 13825795) before Her Honour Judge Buckingham, sitting (remotely) onContinue reading “Improving P’s quality of life pending a s.21A change in residence”
When capacity for contact and sex do not align: Pragmatic decisions and judicial work-arounds
To my mind, the need for judges to adopt creative or pragmatic approaches to reach decisions they feel comfortable with indicates that the state of the law is less than satisfactory. Based on this case and the KF case, it sounds as though this is the direction that decisions about capacity to engage in sexual relations may now be headed: a finding of capacity on a general basis, but with the opportunity for reconsideration where specific individual risks arise.
A ‘hypothetical’ marriage and a snowball rolling downhill
There was a plan to provide sex and relationship education, but the COVID-19 pandemic and a failure to locate educational providers intervened and so it was sometime later when an education programme to support capacity in relation to sex and marriage was completed. A newly appointed expert then assessed P again and said that P had still not gained capacity in these areas.
A property and affairs application: Observations about P’s role and who should pay costs
Unfortunately, the timing of his reappearance in his mother’s life had led the care home and the LA to suspect that he had only sought out his mother so that he might benefit from the inheritance himself.
Cancer treatment in the face of unknowns and expert disagreement
By Ruby Reed-Berendt, 18 October 2022 A man (MB) in his 30s has been in hospital (and deprived of his liberty) since May 2022 after his mental health deteriorated. Although there remains uncertainty as to the cause of his poor mental health, there is a working diagnosis of T-cell lymphoma of the nervous system. NewcastleContinue reading “Cancer treatment in the face of unknowns and expert disagreement”
Statement from the Open Justice Court of Protection Project concerning an inaccurate and misleading blog post
We will now investigate how it came about that an observer was admitted to a public hearing in which a salient (‘magnetic’) fact of the case was meticulously concealed (by order of the court), leading – surely inevitably – to inaccurate reporting.
Access to the community for P: a s.21A deprivation of liberty hearing
Judge Eldergill stated that P had mentioned wanting to be able to go to a restaurant (and there was also some mention of P being able to go to a bank). He referred to Paragraph X (of the Position Statement) which stated that the Home was concerned about P going out alone because he was at risk of absconding. However, the judge raised a point about the seemingly low likely risk of this happening, given that at another paragraph, it stated that P uses a Zimmer frame and so clearly has mobility issues.
Medical treatment for people with learning disabilities: Telling Robert Bourn’s story and the challenges of ‘transparency’
The initial response of his treating team, says his mother, was to say there were no treatment options. Comfort measures only were proposed and a palliative care referral was made.
Can P return to Ireland?
Four potential care homes in the county to which Mrs H wishes to move “very clearly came back and said they could not meet her needs” (Counsel for Mrs H). “Actually”, he added, “she’s an extremely likeable, cheerful, happy, chirpy lady”. Moreover, “her wish to return to Ireland hasn’t waned in any shape or form”.
Promoting Open Justice in the Court of Protection 