Can anyone advise if the medical assessor for LPS will need to be s12 approved? Our local approval panel has stopped collecting information as to whether they have completed the DoLS annual training requirement & their expiry date (s12 date still available). Is anything changed with LPS?
Hi Jayne
Whilst the final detail on qualification is not yet available in the law, the DHSC has indicated that GPs could undertake the medical assessment and did not specify they need to be s12 approved. In the DHSC’s latest impact assessment, there is now a small amount of funding available for the medical assessment (see para 18.61) but in our view, a significant underestimate.
Previously, the DHSC considered the medical assessment a task that GPs could carry out at no cost at all. Details in this article: https://www.pulsetoday.co.uk/news/uncategorised/gps-may-have-to-assess-mental-health-and-mental-capacity-free-of-charge/
For more details, please see our guides and short film on the Liberty Protection Safeguards.
The mental capacity assessment is likely to be undertaken by a range of professionals.
Best wishes
Aasya Mughal
Edge Training & Consultancy
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