Anne’s Law Regulations Findings

Last year we fed into the public consultation about the regulations for Anne’s Law, which is part of the Care Reform (Scotland) Act which ensures all care home residents have an Essential Care Supporter.

The Scottish Government have now published their findings from that engagement process.

We said:

If the resident has capacity, they should be identifying the Care Supporter. If they don't a best interest decision should be made involving those who know them best. 

They said:

A frequent point was the importance of enabling residents to choose someone they trust and ensuring there is flexibility if circumstances change.

We said:

By setting a standard of stopping essential visits as causing serious harm, it makes it a challenging threshold to weigh other risks against, and seems likely that if this is considered standard, it will lose importance. 

They said:

Some respondents suggested that the definition of “significant deterioration” could be more clearly illustrated, and that guidance would help providers judge when the harm caused by suspension outweighs the risk.

We said:

The requirement for the review of a suspension of visits request to be in writing is not reasonable as often people supporting people receiving care also have communication difficulties themselves.

They said:

Respondents highlighted accessibility concerns with the proposed regulation, specifically that the review request must be in writing.

The evidence gathered through this process will help the Scottish Government make any necessary amendments to the final regulations and develop the guidance needed to support their successful delivery.