Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) Assessments

The Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) provide a legal framework for the deprivation of liberty for people who lack the mental capacity to make decisions about their accommodation and care arrangements themselves. They apply to people who are in hospital or residential/nursing care (the managing authority) and who are subject to restrictions and restraints in their lives, for example, not being free to leave or requiring continual supervision.

Essex County Council requires the provision of 250 assessments per month to establish whether a person in hospital, care home or nursing home requires Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) authorisation. The award will be split into two lots of 125 assessments monthly between the two highest ranked providers.

Assessors will be required to visit the relevant person requiring assessment in their care setting, which may be a hospital ward, care home or nursing home, in order to conduct a face-to-face assessment.

The Provider will be required to manage the assessments from the point at which ECC allocates the assessment to the point where ECC considers authorization. The Provider will also be required to quality check the assessments before they are submitted to ECC for authorisation.

Additional information: The procurement documents may be downloaded from the Authority's e-procurement portal (ProContract)