I noticed your comments in a recent email about Regulation 18 (4A).

 

“(4B) Any notification required to be given in respect of an event in paragraph (4A) shall be given once the outcome of the request or application is known or, if the request or application is withdrawn, at the point of withdrawal and shall include a statement as to—”

 

I would like to know if after advising the LA DoLS team of the death of someone with a pending urgent authorisation application, does the application become ‘withdrawn’ and thereby become notifiable to the CQC please? Or are applications only ‘withdrawn’ for reasons other than death?

Answered by Sheila Scott

Dear R,

Thank you for your question. I asked Rachel Griffiths MBE, QCS’s Mental Capacity and Human Rights Specialist for her comments and this is what she said:

The DoLS requirement re CQC is to notify CQC of the application and its outcome, once the outcome is known.  So once the application has been made, there can only be one of two outcomes: the authorisation is either granted or not granted.  There’s a box on the form where it asks the provider, in so many words, if the application is not granted, to say why.  It is perfectly adequate to put, in that box, that this is due to the death of the person before the decision had been made.  The form is at http://www.cqc.org.uk/file/4728

This has become recently more complicated in that some local authorities are now starting to ask providers to ‘withdraw’ applications if it’s clear they won’t proceed due to the death of the person.

This concept of withdrawal, however, isn’t currently reflected in the CQC’s forms.  So it might count with the LA as having been withdrawn, but with the CQC it’s simply ‘not granted’ (due to the person ’s death).

I hope this is helpful.

Best wishes.

Sheila