Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
This article was first published on LexisPSL Local Government on 17 March 2014. Click here for a free 24h trial of LexisPSL.
Original news
Consultation: New offence of ill-treatment or wilful neglect, LNB News 27/02/2014 118 Both individuals and organisations could be prosecuted under a new offence of ill-treatment or wilful neglect being consulted on by the Department for Health (DoH). The government is seeking views on the scope and elements of the offence as well as how to apply it to organisations. The consultation closes on 31 March 2014.
What have been identified as the deficits in the existing law in this area?
The consultation paper highlights a deficit in the existing legislation of a specific criminal offence for ill-treatment, or wilful neglect, of adults with full capacity who are in care. Notwithstanding that the National Advisory Group acknowledges that 'there already exists a series of robust sanctions and powers' available to regulators such as the Care Quality Commission and the Health and Safety Executive that could be brought to bear. The proposal is to model the new offence on MCA 2005, s 44 which would mean that all patients would be placed on an equal footing as far as available sanctions are concerned.
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The consultation document recommends penalties for both individuals and organisations. For individuals it is suggested that penalties should mirror those specified in MCA 2005, s 44 and organisations would be subject to similar provisions in the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007.
Are there any obvious difficulties with the offence in its current form?
There is some dilemma about the merits of extending protection to cover informal care settings eg personal family carer arrangements or 'where someone is keeping a friendly eye on an elderly neighbour'. The proposal is to focus on the conduct of the perpetrator and not the harm to the victim. The broad view is that this may backfire as family members may decide not to help look after their relative for fear of prosecution. The consultation document states that the legislation does not propose to define 'wilful' as it has a 'widely accepted meaning established by case law' but this could give rise to different interpretation in some cases.
Interviewed by Evelyn Reid. The views expressed by our Legal Analysis interviewees are not necessarily those of the proprietor.