The Legal Rights of People with Dementia in Health and Social Care

1. The Legal Rights of People with Dementia in Health and Social Care Jim Pearson Alzheimer Scotland Welfare Rights Manager

2. Why are rights in health and social care important? • Progress is being made • People with dementia still experience • Stigma • Discrimination • Indignity • Neglect • Harm

3. Sources of Legal Rights in Scotland • UK Legislation • Human Rights Act 1998 • National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 • Disability Discrimination Act 1995 • Scottish Legislation • Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002 • The Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2002 • The Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 • The Mental Health (Care and Treatment) Scotland Act 2003 • Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act 2007

4. The core values of Human Rights • The Human Rights Act 1998 adopts the rights in the European Convention of Human Rights and is based on a set of core values, these are: • Fairness • Respect • Equality • Dignity • Autonomy • The Human Rights Act requires all legislation made by Scottish & UK Parliaments to be compatible with the Act

5. Adults with Incapacity (Scot) Act 2000 • Principles • Defines “Incapacity” • Establishes “Office of Public Guardian” • Duties for other public bodies • Provisions for proxy decision making for both financial and welfare matters, including • Powers of attorney • Guardianship and intervention orders • Medical treatment

6. Mental Health (Care & Treatment) (Scot) Act 2003 • Sets out when people can be legally required to go into hospital, or to accept services or treatment that they may not want • New rights and safeguard • independent advocacy services • Advance statements • Named person • The Mental Health Tribunal – which will hear cases under the Act • The Mental Welfare Commission

7. Adult Support & Protection (Scot) 2007 • Principles • Defines who is an ‘adult at risk’ and what ‘harm’ is • Statutory duties and powers for Scottish Local Authorities to inquire and investigate when an adult is at risk of harm. • Duty to consider the provision of advocacy and other service • Duties of cooperation between public bodies • Three types of Protection Order

8. Regulation of Care (Scot) Act 2001 • Scottish Care Commission • registers & inspects all services regulated under the Act • taking account of the national care standards issued by Scottish Ministers. • Scottish Social Services Council • Duty to promote high standards of conduct and practice • overall aims of protecting service users and carers and securing the confidence of the public in social services • publish codes of practice for all social services staff and their employers

9. Community Care & Health Scotland Act 2002 • The Act introduced • Free Personal Care For people aged 65 or over • Free Nursing Care for people of any age • Direct Payments • For Carers • Right to ask for a carers assessment • Duty on Local Authorities & NHS to inform carers of rights to a carers assessment

10. Has Scotland got it right? • Positive developments in legislation in past several years. • Better awareness and understanding of dementia • Scottish Government has made positive changes in Health and Social Care policies • The framework of rights is essentially in place. • However, too many people with dementia are not having their rights recognised • Development of Charter of Rights.

11. Draft Charter of Rights • Charter is an initiative of the Scottish Cross Party Group on Dementia. • It cover rights in all areas of life from diagnosis to end of life care • The Charter is intended to • empower people with dementia and their carers so that they can assert their rights • ensure that those who provide health, social care and other services understand and respect the rights of people with dementia and their carers • ensure the highest quality of service provision