PATIENT LOCKUP NUMBERS UNCOVERED (Durham Liberal Democrats)

Durham Liberal Democrats <info@durhamlibdems.org.uk>

PATIENT LOCKUP NUMBERS UNCOVERED

October 27, 2009 12:00 AM

Worrying statistics uncovered by Liberal Democrats show that Durham County Council authorises the lock up of patients against their will at a rate ten times higher than elsewhere in the region. The figures show that the local authority has applied to use the power - envisaged as a last resort - 53 times since April. This compares with just 5 applications made by local authorities in Newcastle and Northumberland and 9 applications in Sunderland.

Since April 1st 2009, the Mental Capacity Act has permitted applications to be made to deprive a patient of their liberty without recourse to due process or the courts. A Freedom of Information request made by Lib Dem Parliamentary Spokesperson, Carol Woods, now raises the prospect that this power is being abused by Durham County Council.

Carol Woods commented, "This is a very serious concern. The power to deprive someone of their liberty against their wishes or their family's is clearly very dangerous. Every other authority in the region appears to have recognised this but Durham County Council seem to be making these applications as a matter of course and that is clearly unacceptable.

"I cannot believe that mental health issues are ten times worse in Durham than they are in Newcastle or Sunderland so why is the level of patient lockups ten times higher? The public need to be assured that this power is not being abused so I am calling for an urgent review of the Council's use of this power. The Council has some very serious questions to answer.

"The guidelines make it very clear that "every effort should be made to avoid a deprivation of liberty" and that it "should be

a last option". It is now vital that we receive guarantees from the Council that they are investigating this issue. Given the fundamental issues at stake they cannot allow this practice to continue unchecked."