Kathryn Mackay

The Scottish adult support and protection legal framework

Scotland now has three key statutes that provide a legal framework for the support and protection of adults at risk of harm: Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act (2000), Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act (2003) and Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act (2007). This article provides details of the 2007 act and highlights its interaction with the other two. The author argues that an effective adult support and protection strategy will need to address all three acts. A pyramid of intervention is used to explain the increasing levels of intervention that are now available in Scotland. The article also highlights how Scotland continues to diverge from the rest of the UK. It argues that comparative studies within the UK as well as the wider world, using tools such as the pyramid, could improve our understanding of this important and rapidly changing area of law.

Dementia Studies Online: Reflections on the Opportunities and Drawbacks of eLearning

This paper explores the opportunities and drawbacks of eLearning from the viewpoints of educators and learners. A postgraduate dementia studies programme provides the basis for reflection on the use of a blended learning approach utilising web‐based learning. Those who register for the programme are employed in different health and social care settings and have varied roles, but all have a desire to improve their knowledge and skills within a field where continuing professional development is currently limited. The paper outlines the main debates around eLearning and describes the programme itself. It then focuses on three key themes. First the challenges for educators, in terms of cost and quality, in developing and delivering an online curriculum. Second the flexibility of the structure and learning methods for students. Third how student support was developed using the concept of a learning community. It concludes by summarising the strengths and challenges of this mode of learning for students and the key lessons learned by the educators.

A parting of the ways? The diverging nature of mental health social work in the light of the new Acts in Scotland, and in England and Wales

• Summary: This article uses the concept of citizenship to explore the recent mental health statutes within England and Wales and within Scotland. It argues that differences in the content, and practice context, herald a parting of the ways in mental health social work in the United Kingdom. • Findings: The author focuses on three key differences: the reciprocity principle, the grounds for compulsory treatment and the place of social work within compulsory intervention to demonstrate how the statutes have led to more limited legal, procedural and social rights in England and Wales than in Scotland. The result for social work is that the practice context created in England and Wales may become more risk averse and that social work services may have a more residual role within statutory mental health work. The differences described in this article may also reflect increasing post-devolution divergence in the provision of social work services across the four countries that make up the United Kingdom. • Applications: Further research is needed to explore if these divergences, within mental health law and policy, are in practice supporting or limiting citizenship.

Implications of divergences in adult protection legislation

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the similarities and differences of legal responses to older adults who may be at risk of harm or abuse in the UK, Ireland, Australia and the USA. Design/methodology/approach – The authors draw upon a review of elder abuse and adult protection undertaken on behalf of the commissioner for older people in Northern Ireland. This paper focusses on the desk top mapping of the different legal approaches and draws upon wider literature to frame the discussion of the relative strengths and weaknesses of the different legal responses. Findings – Arguments exist both for and against each legal approach. Differences in defining the scope and powers of adult protection legislation in the UK and internationally are highlighted. Research limitations/implications – This review was undertaken in late 2013; while the authors have updated the mapping to take account of subsequent changes, some statutory guidance is not yet available. While the expertise of a group of experi...

Choosing to Live with Harm? A Presentation of two Case Studies to Explore the Perspective of those who Experienced Adult Safeguarding Interventions

ABSTRACT Adult safeguarding often creates a tension for welfare practitioners between promoting an adult’s autonomy and their duty to try to protect them from harm. Literature highlights the dangers of adopting simplistic notions of autonomy and capacity in assessing whether someone may be choosing to live with harm. Yet very little has been published about how adults at risk and family members experience the tension between autonomy and protection: what choices do they think they have and why might they choose one above another? The article starts to address this gap by utilising an ethic of care to explore the experiences of an adult at risk; and then a family member where older people were being harmed within family relationships. These accounts were drawn from a Scottish qualitative adult safeguarding study. They highlight how choice, autonomy and capacity are interconnected concepts; and that they can be compromised by a range of personal, relational and environmental factors. In addition they demonstrate how practitioners can support or limit the choices open to adults at risk and their family members. The ensuing discussion summarises the implications for practice and considers how voices of experience might be better captured in the future.

Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act 2007: reflections on developing practice and present day challenges

The purpose of this paper is to outline the duties and powers of the Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act (ASPSA) 2007 and place them in the wider Scottish adult protection legislative framework. It considers the potential value of a standalone adult safeguarding statute.,The authors draw upon their research and practice expertise to consider the merits of the ASPSA 2007. They take a case study approach to explore its implementation in one particular Scottish local authority, drawing on the qualitative and quantitative data contained in its annual reports.,Skilled, knowledgeable and well-supported practitioners are key to effective screening, investigations and intervention. Protection orders are being used as intended for a very small number of cases.,The lack of national statistical reports means that there is limited scope for comparison between the local and national data.,Adult support and protection requires ongoing investment of time and leadership in councils and other local agencies to instigate and maintain good practice. Aspects that require further attention are self-neglect; capacity and consent and residents in care homes who pose potential risks to other residents and staff.,ASPSA 2007 has helped to raise awareness of adults at risk of harm within the local communities and as social issue more generally.,The authors provide a critical appraisal of the implementation of Scottish adult safeguarding legislation over the last six years. They consider similar developments in England and Wales and argue for comparative research to test these out. Finally, they signpost future directions for bridging separate policy streams.

Neglecting justice? Exploring Scottish convictions for ill-treatment and wilful neglect

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the perceived low number of Scottish criminal convictions in cases of ill-treatment or wilful neglect of adults where the victims experienced mental disorder, and/or incapacity. Human rights and anti-discrimination legislation are drawn upon to consider whether victims are gaining equality of access to justice through the charging and conviction of those who commit these offences. Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses the concept of parity of participation to first set out the wider legal framework in which access of justice takes place and to try to determine how it may be working in practice. Second the paper explores Scottish guidance, research and case law in relation ill-treatment or wilful neglect to evaluate the seeming lack of progress towards criminal convictions. Findings – Whilst the legal framework, at least on paper, appears to promote equality of access to justice, little is known about how it is working in practice; in particular whet...