Purpose – The Mental Capacity Act (MCA) was implemented in 2007 as a piece of legislation to empower and protect adults who require support making decisions. Many older adults in residential care homes will be in this position due to developmental disabilities associated with functional...

This paper considers cash for care as reflected in direct payments and the more recent development of individual budgets in England. While the momentum to roll out individual budgets gathers pace in England, Wales has embarked on a more cautious approach in wishing to evaluate the impact of...

Purpose This paper aims to examine reform of mental health legislation in England and Wales. It covers the period from the introduction of the 1983 MHA to the proposed reforms outlined in the Wessley Review that was published in December 2018. Design/methodology/approach This is a...

Purpose This paper aims to highlight devastating consequences when professionals misappropriate the presumption of capacity in s1 Mental Capacity Act 2005. Design/methodology/approach This is the story of my vulnerable son's life and the failure of services to provide the professional help and...

Purpose – This paper seeks to describe the experiences of people visiting elderly relatives in hospital, detailing the lack of care and negligent attitudes of nursing staff with regards to providing appropriate food and drink to the elderly patients. Design/methodology/approach – This paper...

Purpose – This paper seeks to present findings from a review of hospital policies and practices in one NHS Trust in England. Design/methodology/approach – The focus of the review was hospital staff policy and practice in safeguarding the rights of vulnerable patients. A sample of staff was...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to set out and discuss findings from a developmental study, commissioned by the English Department of Health and the charity, Comic Relief, which was commissioned to clarify definitional issues and recommend ways of operationalising key concepts for a...

For the past four years, the social work department at the University of Hull has been working in partnership with colleagues from Austria, France and Germany to develop a European module on comparative social work. Funded by the EU's SOCRATES programme, this has involved the four European sites...

This paper draws on findings from a study examining attitudes, practices and policy in relation to charging and assessing older people who were considering entering residential and nursing home care. Its focus is on exploring the views of care managers and legal practitioners towards their work...

Issues raised here are drawn from the findings of a housing investigation that explored harassment and abuse of older tenants in the private rented sector. The project examined older people's experiences and raised important links between health and housing. The article highlights financial...