The programme helps students investigate the provisions of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and successful completion leads to qualification as a Best Interest Assessor under the MCA Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards.
This is a vital role which helps to promote and support human rights for some of society’s most vulnerable people.
Programme Leader Michael Lyne said: “The College of Social Work has developed new key capabilities for Best Interests Assessors on behalf of the Nursing and Midwifery Council and College of Occupational Therapy.
“The College has also developed an endorsement scheme for universities providing this programme and we were pleased to be invited to submit our programme as part of the pilot.
“Following a rigorous application process and a visit to the university by two reviewers from the College we are extremely pleased to be complimented on the quality of our programme and have become one of the first programmes in England and Wales to be endorsed in this way.”
This follows the Supreme Court judgement on the 19th March 2014 (P v Cheshire West and Chester Council; and another: P & Q v Surrey County Council [2014] UKSC 19) which provided clarification in the determination of whether arrangements made for the care and or treatment of an individual lacking capacity to consent to those arrangements amount to a Deprivation of Liberty – in which case, in hospitals and care homes, this must be authorised via a Best Interests Assessor, who has been trained by an approved provider.
Director of the NCPQSW Professor Keith Brown, who has assisted the Government in its response to the Supreme Court judgement, said: “This is further evidence of how the NCPQSW is the leading provider of this type of education in the United Kingdom.
“This is supported by the fact that we have enrolled over 800 students on this programme this year, working in partnerships with local authorities.
“Endorsement of the programme allows students to feel confident that they will be well prepared to take on this important and exacting role.”
