Deprivation of liberty safeguards (DoLS) authorisation

The deprivation of liberty safeguards (DoLS) comes under the Mental Capacity Act.

They apply to people who lack mental capacity who live in a:

hospital
care home
nursing home

A person should not be deprived of their liberty unless the legal process has been followed and they must be able to appeal. The DoLS are there to make sure this happens.

What is a deprivation of liberty?

A person is deprived of their liberty if they:

lack capacity to make a decision about where they are living and their care needs
are subject to a high level of supervision and control
are not free to leave the hospital or care home permanently
have any state involvement in their care e.g. funding of the placement or hospital, or being regulated by the Care Quality Commission

The deprivation of liberty must be authorised by us as the Supervisory Body.

The hospital or care home should apply for DoLS authorisation. They should do this before the person moves into their care if possible.

For more information, see:

Request a DoLS authorisation

Care homes and hospitals can request a:

standard authorisation
urgent authorisation (7 days)
further standard authorisation and 7 day urgent extension

The urgent authorisation now includes the 7 day extension. This gives you 14 days including the day you apply.

Which authority to apply to

Make sure you apply to the correct local authority. If the person is:

self-funding or homeless, apply to the local authority in your area
being paid for by another local authority, apply to that local authority
paid for by NHS continuing healthcare, apply to the local authority that they lived in

Apply to Dorset Council

Start now

If you have a question, call 01305 225650.

Apply to Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole