Restriction of liberty policy
Residents wishing to go outside the home
A Home should aim to provide opportunities for its residents to have outings, to receive visits and to take part in ordinary social life.
Residents should be offered help in making journeys as appropriate. Whilst it is reasonable to expect residents to inform staff that they are going out, and for how long, unnecessary intrusion into privacy should be avoided.
If a resident wishes to leave the building or grounds of a Home and may be at serious risk due to a lack of mental capacity, we have a duty of care to act in their best interests. A staff member should attempt to dissuade or offer to accompany the person, and some form of restriction of liberty will be used as a last resort. A resident should only be followed against their wishes if this course of action was agreed in advance, unless there is imminent danger.
Simply to restrain a resident who wishes to wander is likely to be frustrating for them since it ignores a need for communication which they cannot at that moment express in any other way. Locking a door to keep someone in against his or her will may constitute false imprisonment. This applies to any sort of mechanical impediment including digital locks, baffle locks, double handles and handles set in inaccessible positions.
The design of buildings and their grounds should allow residents the space to wander or move about freely and safely so that people there can feel at home.
For a resident who is inclined to wander outside the Home and become lost or get into danger, the management of this behaviour should be discussed, agreed with all concerned, recorded in the resident's Care Plan and frequently reviewed.
Every Home must have a written and easily accessible statement of the procedure to be followed if a resident is missing.
Appropriate forms of identification should be agreed and used.
