I am acting in a litigation matter for a client who no longer has the mental capacity to continue with the proceedings. Should I contact Office of the Public Guardianship Office or the Official Solicitor’s office to ensure that the client’s interests are protected?
Following the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA), is there a prescribed form to be used for a client wishing to make an Advance Decision to refuse treatment?
Combat Stress is the leading charity specialising in the care of British Veterans who have been profoundly traumatised by harrowing experiences during their Service career. We help Veterans from the Armed Forces and Merchant Navy – from all ranks, conflicts and of all ages.
Facebook: www.facebook.com/eastpark.glasgow Twitter: www.twitter.com/eastparkglasgow Company No: SC356976, East Park School trading as East Park incorporated in Scotland
East Park is regulated by the Care Inspectorate and Education Scotland.
The vision of our Founder, William Mitchell LLD, was itself the legacy of a remarkable man. Inspired, he formed ‘East Park’ in 1874, an organisation that would provide children and young people with vital residential nursing care, education and nourishment.
Hft is a national charity providing local support for adults with learning disabilities and their families. We focus on each individual and support them to live the life they want, from finding work, to forming relationships, to living independently.
Gifts in Wills to Hft help create opportunities that go well beyond day-to-day support and help fund a number of our outstanding services that reach out to all individuals with learning disability and their families:
Communication – the ability to speak and be understood, to listen and understand – is the essential life skill. It is the foundation on which children learn, join in and make friends. Over one million children in the UK have a communication disability.
The Lake District Calvert Trust provides residential outdoor activity courses for people of all ages with physical, sensory and learning disabilities. The mission of the Trust is to challenge disability through the adventure and achievement of outdoor activities, and to make the outstanding countryside of Cumbria truly accessible to all.
‘Help’ can be the hardest word for a lawyer to utter. As reported in this week’s feature, a call for assistance clearly goes against the grain for people whose stock in trade is assisting clients of whatever type in solving their problems. Add to that the competitive and adversarial nature of much legal practice, and a tough economy, and it is not difficult to see why twin problems of stress and mental well-being are issues for lawyers.
I read with interest your feature ‘Time out’. As a solicitor who failed to achieve a work/life balance, I hope that my experience may be a lesson to others. I was a partner in a small firm for 23 years. For 21 of those years, I was a full-time working mother. I sought to manage my life with hard work and efficiency. Over the years, I suffered recurrent stress-related insomnia. I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004. I planned to reduce my working hours, but did not do so.
We at LawCare were sorry to read the letter of 10 May from Jean Booth. Sadly her experience of stress leading to debilitating and ultimately career-ending depression is one we hear only too often on the LawCare helpline. We would reiterate Ms Booth’s advice - if you are juggling the many demands of life, don't push yourself too hard. Help is at hand for those who may be struggling.
“If I hadn’t been to Maytree I’d have committed suicide, without a question of a doubt. In a time of total, utter despair and blackness, it gave me hope. And now five years later, I’m here.”
Suicide is the cause of death for almost double the number of people that die on Britain’s roads. The stigma of mental illness and the fear of being sectioned prevent many people from seeking help.
Persons who lack capacity - Best interest - European Convention on Human Rights
Re M: CoP (Mr Justice Baker): 28 September 2011
The applicant, W, was the mother of M, the first respondent. M had lapsed into a coma in 2003, and it had shortly after been discovered that she had suffered viral encephalitis, which had left her with extensive and irreparable brain damage. Since 2003, she had been in a minimally conscious state (MCS), which was slightly higher than a permanent vegetative state (VS).
LG v DK: Court of Protection (Sir Nicholas Wall): 5 October 2011
The Court of Protection held that section 21(4) of the Family Law Reform Act 1969 gave the court the power to consent to the taking of a bodily sample from a person lacking capacity notwithstanding the absence of a specific application within the COP proceedings putting the parentage of an individual in issue.
Mental capacity - Local authority - Supported accommodation - Family life
K v A Local Authority and others: CA (Civ Div) (Lord Justices Thorpe, Davis, Lady Justice Black): 8 February 2012
L was born in 1983 and had a diagnosis of mild mental retardation with an IQ of 59. It was common ground that he lacked capacity within the meaning of section 2 of the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
Patient – Responsible local social services authority – Residence of patient
R (on the application of Sunderland City Council) v South Tyneside Council: Court of Appeal, Civil Division: 9 October 2012
The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, in considering where a person was resident for the purpose of s 117(3) of the Mental Health Act 1983, gave guidance on the meaning of 'is resident' and held that the respondent local authority was the local social services authority for the purpose of the Act.
It is good to see Anne-Marie Elliott sticking up for mental health lawyers in the face of corrosive criticisms of standards of advocacy at mental health review tribunals. I see Ms Elliott is herself an accredited representative. Complaints about poor standards, particularly those coming from the tribunal judiciary, almost always in my experience relate to representatives who are not accredited.
Mental illness and brain disorder affects everyone – one in four of us directly. They cause profound distress not only to their sufferers but also to their families and friends
The Psychiatry Research Trust was formed in 1982 with the sole objective of raising funds for research into these devastating conditions at the Institute of Psychiatry (part of King’s College London) and its associated Maudsley and Bethlem Royal Hospitals.
I write in defence of advocates representing mentally ill clients. I am concerned that your article promulgates the common perception that lawyers see mental health advocacy as an ‘easy ride’ in comparison with advocacy in other fields.
