‘Scary’ increase in mental health assessments
FAMILIES are being left “in despair” as councils fail to cope with a soaring demand for urgent mental health assessments.
Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan have experienced what’s been described as a “scary” increase in the number of referrals for deprivation of liberty safeguards – which are for people unable to make decisions about their own care who need constant supervision.
A team dealing with DoLS referrals across the region are dealing a backlog of more than 800 outstanding assessments which have yet to be carried out- which has led to concerns many families are being left without urgently-needed support.
More than 2,500 referrals for DoLS were received by the team in 2017/18 alone - and just 1,676 assessments were completed.
Natasha James, Vale of Glamorgan Council’s operational manager for safeguarding and service outcomes, has said all local authorities are struggling with the demand.
She told the council’s Healthy Living and Social Care Scrutiny Committee on Tuesday September 11: “The demand for authorisation of deprivation of liberty safeguards far outweighs what we are able to keep up with and achieve.”
DoLS assessments are co-ordinated by the Cardiff and the Vale Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards/Mental Capacity Act on behalf of three authorities.
The team completed 840 DoLS assessments from Cardiff and Vale University Health Board in 2017/18, and in April there were 95 outstanding. DoLS referrals for hospital patients have to be prioritised because of the unpredictable nature of hospital admissions.
Some 508 assessments from Cardiff council were completed in 2017/18, and in April there were 504 outstanding.
Figures for DoLS assessments from Vale of Glamorgan Council showed 328 were completed in 2017/18, and in April there were 230 outstanding.
A landmark Supreme Court Ruling in 2014 caused an increase in DoLS assessments which local authorities have to deal with.
It made factors such as the purpose of a deprivation of liberty or the person’s compliance with it irrelevant when social services decided upon applications.
Before the ruling took effect, in 2013/14, authorities across Cardiff and the Vale dealt with just 93 DoLS referrals.
Councillor Neil Thomas told the committee: “It’s a scary increase in the numbers. It’s astronomic.
“It looks like cases at the bottom of the list will never get to the top. It appears they will never be assessed.”
Ms James said “this is absolutely the case” for authorities across the board.
Councillor Thomas added: “There’s going to be families in despair and continuing despair because the support is not coming through.”
Amanda Phillips, head of resource management and safeguarding, told the meeting there will be other measures taken to mitigate risk to people while they are waiting to be assessed.
A report to the committee says DoLS assessments are not done in isolation.
It says: “Individuals who are involved in the DoLS process and who are resident within the Vale of Glamorgan Council area will have already have had a full assessment of their care and support needs by an appropriate professional.
“An appropriate care and support plan will be in place and the authority will have ensured that identified needs are being met.”