BIA Managed Solution (KMCAS-133)

Tender description

DoLS were introduced in 2009 as part of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. The aim of DoLS is to provide a protection to anyone over the age of 18 receiving care in a registered care home or hospital by legally authorising restrictive care situations for people who lack capacity to consent to them. A Supreme Court judgement in March 2014 set a new, lower threshold for determining a deprivation of liberty in care settings. This led to a significant increase in the number of DoLS applications made both nationally and in Kirklees year on year from 2014. With current capacity, Kirklees process approximately 35 assessments per week to completion, prioritising urgent and further applications. This has resulted in approximately 500 requests for assessments waiting to be completed. In order to reduce the number of unallocated assessments Kirklees has awarded a contract for a managed solution, for the provision of Best Interest Assessors, Mental Health Assessors and Report Quality Assurance. This contract will eliminate the outstanding assessment backlog in year 1 of the contract, with an option for a further 3 x 12 month extensions to provide additional capacity thereafter should this be required.