How to apply Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards.

The Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards are contained in the Mental Capacity Act and provide formal protection for individuals who lack capacity and are detained in a hospital or care home. Those detained under the Mental Health Act have clear legal protection but, before these safeguards were introduced, those detained outside the Mental Health Act did not. This article examines the rights of individuals without capacity, the origins of the safeguards, their application in the general ward setting and their place in protecting patients and healthcare staff.