Health and social work services

Tender description

The Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) governs the circumstances in which a person who lacks the mental capacity to consent to care or treatment might lawfully be deprived of liberty. The DoLS ensure that professional assessments take place regarding whether the person lacks capacity, and whether it is in their best interests to be deprived of liberty for the relevant treatment and care. Background: Kent County Council (the council) is the largest county council in England covering an area of 3 500 square kilometres. It has an annual expenditure of over 900 000 000 GBP on goods and services and a population of 1 300 000 GBP. The Council provides a wide range of personal and strategic services on behalf of its residents, operating in partnership with 12 district councils and 289 parish/town councils. Since the Cheshire West judgment there has been a significant increase in DoLS applications. Between April 2014 and April 2015, there were 110 800 DoLS applications nationally, pointing to a 10-fold increase on 2012–13 figures. This is reflected in the numbers that we have seen in Kent, with 258 applications made in 2012-13 compared with 2 881 applications made in 2014-15. The Local Authority has a statutory obligation to provide this service to its residents governed by legislation. The DoLS requires that NHS hospitals and private hospitals and care homes registered under the Care Standards Act (2000), known as the Managing Authority, must apply for authorisation to deprive a person of their liberty to the relevant Supervisory Body. The purpose of the service is to ensure that those subject to DoLS have received statutory Mental Health and Eligibility assessments in a timely manner so as not to delay any outcome issued by the Supervisory Body. Any successful provider will be required to manage the administration and undertake timely and accurate Mental Health and Eligibility assessments and to document these assessments as required by legislation to the Kent MCA DoLS Service on request. The contract will service the need to assess all referrals identified by the Kent County Council MCA DoLS Service. The contract is anticipated to commence upon 1.4.2016 and will continue for a period of 24 months with an option to extend for a further period of 12 months unless terminated in accordance with the Conditions of Contract on the Kent Business Portal. Further background and technical information can be found within the tender documentation.