By Jordan Briggs, 22nd July 2022 This hearing, listed before His Honour Judge Berkley at Manchester County Court (via MS Teams) on Wednesday 20th July 2022, concerned a woman in her early twenties with complex emotional needs (‘P’) who had absconded from her placement on 18th March 2022. There’s a previous blog post on the Open Justice CourtContinue reading “An “unacceptable” care placement – and why public observers help to hold the state to account”
Tag Archives: Open Justice
Family members as parties to proceedings: Pros and cons
By Astral Heaven, 21st July 2022 I am a Local Authority Approved Mental Health Professional (AMHP) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) Lead and a practising Best Interests Assessor (BIA). Part of my role as BIA when I’m undertaking DoLS assessments is to talk with the person I am assessing, and with their family and friends,Continue reading “Family members as parties to proceedings: Pros and cons”
After more than 4 months in hospital (for “assessment”), there’s a new placement and a transition plan for Mr M
By Celia Kitzinger, 19th July 2022 This was a short hearing in a long-running case – and if things go according to plan, it will have been the final hearing. There were two hearings in February 2022, the second of which approved Mr M’s transfer to hospital for what was projected to be an overnight stay. At theContinue reading “After more than 4 months in hospital (for “assessment”), there’s a new placement and a transition plan for Mr M”
Trial of living at home – successful so far
By Celia Kitzinger, 9th July 2022 A woman in her nineties who’s been “trapped [in a care home] by some Kafkaesque nightmare” for more than a year, has finally returned home. The judge has yet to determine whether it’s in her best interests to stay there: this is a “trial at home” to see how it worksContinue reading “Trial of living at home – successful so far”
Mental capacity assessment and transition plan for a man with schizophrenia and ulcerated legs
By Diana Sant Angelo, 4th July 2022 I am a Best Interests Assessor and I wanted to observe a hearing in the Court of Protection because I have always been interested in law – and now as a BIA, I am working in the overlap between the care and legal systems. On a more personalContinue reading “Mental capacity assessment and transition plan for a man with schizophrenia and ulcerated legs”
A first experience of observing in the Court of Protection
By Georgina Baidoun, 30th June 2022 I had no intention of becoming an observer of any of the Court of Protection cases so admirably reported by others, although I read most of the reports on the Open Justice Court of Protection blog avidly and am fascinated by both the individual stories and the principles raised. But IContinue reading “A first experience of observing in the Court of Protection”
“Abusive” wife agrees to move out of “the matrimonial home” with continuing (albeit restricted) contact with P: An agreed order
By Bridget Penhale, 28th June 2022 After reading previous OJCOP blogs on the circumstances of this case (the most recent is here, and there are two earlier ones) I was keen to attend this hearing (COP 13861341 before Mr. Justice Francis) on Monday 27th June. It concerns a protected party (P) who has dementia and Parkinson’s Disease. According to theContinue reading ““Abusive” wife agrees to move out of “the matrimonial home” with continuing (albeit restricted) contact with P: An agreed order”
When P can’t go home to his “abusive” wife: Another ineffective hearing
By Celia Kitzinger, 25th June 2022 The protected party at the centre of this case (P) has dementia and Parkinson’s Disease. He’s in a care home and he wants to return home. The difficulty is that his wife, who lives in the house of which he is sole owner, is (allegedly) abusive and subjects him to coerciveContinue reading “When P can’t go home to his “abusive” wife: Another ineffective hearing”
“She is religious and she is a fighter”: Three perspectives on best interests decision-making in the Court of Protection from ‘Compassion in Dying’
By Jemma Woodley, Zach Moss and Upeka de Silva, 23rd June 2022 Editorial Note: The judgment has now been published: Imperial Healthcare NHS Trust v C & Ors [2022] EWCOP 28 We are three people who work for Compassion in Dying, a national charity that supports people to make their own decisions about end-of-life care inContinue reading ““She is religious and she is a fighter”: Three perspectives on best interests decision-making in the Court of Protection from ‘Compassion in Dying’”
Sisters’ dispute over Deputyship – and a concern about open justice
By Daniel Cloake, 20th June 2022 Two feuding sisters (Ms J and Ms E) have asked the Court of Protection to pick one of them as a deputy after their father lost capacity to manage his finances following a series of strokes. The hearing I observed was listed on the “Daily Hearing List” on the court’sContinue reading “Sisters’ dispute over Deputyship – and a concern about open justice”
Promoting Open Justice in the Court of Protection 