New learning site launched on Scotland’s adults with incapacity law

A new online learning site on the use of the law when supporting adults who lack capacity to make some or all of their own decisions has just been launched by the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland (the Commission) and NHS Education for Scotland (NES).

The site is for professionals working in health, social work and social care across Scotland. It follows a major report by the Mental Welfare Commission on the use of the law when discharging individuals from hospital to care homes.

In May 2021, the Commission published a report entitled, Authority to Discharge: Report into decision making for people in hospital who lack capacity that examined, through sample reviews, how the law was used when people were discharged from hospital to care homes during the pandemic. The report raised significant concerns that were not exclusively the result of the pandemic. It found evidence of gaps in knowledge across the health, social work and social care workforce in relation to the application of the  Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 (AWI Act) particularly in the areas of:

• capacity and assessment;
• associated legislation;
• deprivation of liberty; and
• human rights.

The AWI Act places an obligation on the social work, social care and health workforce to understand the legislation and have the knowledge and skills appropriate to their role. The Authority to Discharge report found people had been moved without lawful authority. Staff told the Commission they were in urgent need of training to support them to improve AWI practice.

Following the report, the Scottish Government agreed to fund a short life project (16 months) to support a national approach to learning and applying the requirements of the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 in practice. The resulting project is led by the Commission (offers expertise in AWI practice) and NES (offers expertise in education).

Julie Paterson, chief executive, Mental Welfare Commission, said:

“When people do not have the capacity to make some or all of their own decisions, it is vital that professional health, social work and social care staff understand the law, and adhere to it at all times. Our report, Authority to Discharge, found that this was not always happening.

“After much joint work with government and with NES, I am delighted that we have reached this first stage of rolling out educational resources across Scotland. The learning site will be accessible to professionals across the country and is a key part of putting our recommendations from Authority to Discharge into practice.

“The materials, being developed with our partners in NHS Education for Scotland, will result in better knowledge of the Adults With Incapacity Act among professionals, and better outcomes for individuals receiving care and support. We encourage health, social work and social care organisations across the country to share it with their staff – we hope it proves a helpful and practical resource for all.”

Note to editors
This learning site is only available for people with a Turas account. It can be accessed through registration here.