We have posted elsewhere on the blog about some of the issues faced by people responding to the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act. The author of this paper set out to clarify the differences between the terms’ capacity’ and ‘competence’ as used in the Act, in order to help practitioners, people with disabilities and [read the full story…]
Modernisation of social care and the move towards personalisation have opened up opportunities for people with learning disabilities to take control of their supports through using individual budgets to employ supports. This study set out to look at the impact of this policy change on people with learning disabilities and their families employing their own [read the full story…]
A number of recent inquiries have highlighted the concern that people with learning disabilities may on occasion be denied access to their basic human rights. The authors of this study set out to explore this concern in relation to approaches to risk management taken in services, which they suggest may focus too much on professional [read the full story…]
Despite many people with learning disabilities expressing the wish that they would like the opportunity to work, rates of employment remain extremely low. One concern that potential employers may have is that the risk of injury to workers with learning disabilities may be greater and consequently, insurance costs may rise. This Canadian study set out [read the full story…]
The Mental Capacity Act has created a legal framework for those supporting people with learning disabilities making decisions about the way they live their lives. The Act provides safeguards for those people who may be unable to make decisions for themselves and sets out guidance for supporters. The authors of this paper carried out an [read the full story…]
This Australian study set out to look at the use of restraints and seclusion as responses to people with learning disabilities with behaviour described as challenging. The authors point out that the prevalence rate of such restrictive practices is difficult to agree as previous studies have not used population-level data. They used data on the [read the full story…]
A keystone of policy relating to the support of people with learning disabilities in England is the involvement of service users in planning and delivering their support. This is also reflected in policy relating to risk assessment and management processes. However, the evidence from the literature at present suggests that this involvement is not yet [read the full story…]
National policy in the UK surrounding the support of people with learning disabilities stresses the autonomy of people in receipt of support and the need for those who support them to maximise this. However, support workers also have a duty of care and can find these two policy objectives in conflict with each other. The [read the full story…]
Maximising choice and control are key elements of policy in relation to supporting people with learning disabilities, but it is recognised that the choice of where to live and with whom is often denied to people, especially with severe or profound learning disabilities. The researchers in this USA study set out to understand the current [read the full story…]
The Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards, which were introduced as amendments to the Mental Capacity Act 2005 on 1 April 2009, are designed to protect vulnerable people against overly restrictive care while they are in hospitals or care homes. This second annual report on Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards uses data provided every three months by English [read the full story…]
