A proposal to extend s135 & 136 MHA police powers to ‘authorised persons’ did not make it into the MHA 2025. ‘The proposed amendments would remove the need for the presence of police at mental health incidents in the absence of any risk’ ‘Authorised Persons’ were to include AMHPs, Doctors, Mental Health Nurses and anyone else to be listed in regulations. The joint statement explains the difficulties such a proposal could have in reality and the fact that it had not been serio

Wednesday 17th June 2026 - Saturday 11th July 2026 'It's a vulnerable package. That's why we're here. Eyes-on, two-to-one, double supervised. We keep the protocols, the procedures; we keep the conditions of the order. There is a system. We are the system.' Leyla is sixteen. She likes maths, Teign with the green eyes, and absconding from her children's home. One night to keep her out of harm's way, Leyla is taken and moved to an unknown room, in an unknown house, in a far-awa

We are pleased to share that this guidance on the AGNI case from the Department of Health and Social Care has now been published. Edge Training is running a new training Event ‘ DoLS: The New Era (Unlearning Cheshire West)’ - multiple dates are available For dates, the full programme, pricing, bios and to book a place click here > https://www.edgetraining.org.uk/dolsthenewera If you would like to enquire about commissioning us please email admin@edgetraining.org.uk or ca

The annual AMHP Leads survey confirms that 95% of AMHPs in England are from the social worker profession with at least 5% from nursing and a smaller group of Occupational Therapists. The average age is 48 and 34% are likely to retire in the next 10 years. The importance of the AMHP role remains clear in this report alongside the need for higher numbers of AMHPs to meet increasing demand given the stats above. The report can be accessed HERE. Edge Training run a range of cour

A Coroner's report into the death of a woman in a house fire has highlighted the impact of severe hoarding disorder on a person's mental capacity to make decisions. Professionals in the case noted a lack of guidance on how hoarding impacts upon Executive Dysfunction and can therefore lead to a potential loss of mental capacity. Download the report HERE Edge Training runs training courses on Hoarding & Self Neglect. The next Event is on 17 June via Zoom. - book your place HE

Investigation report: 1 of 2 from the Health Services Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB) This report confirms many of the issues already raised by professional groups such as the AMHP Leads network and mirrored in Coroners Prevention of Future Deaths Reports and Ombudsman complaints. Whilst acknowledging that ED is the right place for many mental health emergencies, the report above considers the legal, policy and safety gaps in the care of people in ED in mental health crisi

A new report from the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) reveals that around half of medium‑ and high‑risk mental health patients in A&E were not properly observed during their stay last year. The report highlights significant gaps in safe observation and underscores the need for improved practice, awareness, and support for clinicians. Download the report: https://rcem.ac.uk/college-news/half-of-medium-and-high-risk-mental-health-patients-in-ae-not-properly-observed

An article in the Royal College of Nursing reports that 1.3 million people have arrived at A&E in mental health crisis in the past six years, with waits sometimes stretching to three days, which the RCN calls a “scandal in plain sight” as demand has massively outgrown the mental health nursing workforce. The RCN says only urgent, sustained investment in mental health nursing will end these unsafe delays and reduce pressure on emergency departments. Read the article HERE Edg

A care home for older people with dementia has been rated Inadequate by the CQC. The report lists a number of reasons for the rating including: ‘The provider had installed surveillance equipment, CCTV cameras, in communal areas and although consent had been sought, where people lacked capacity to make the decision to consent to this, the best interest decision making process was not robust. For example, people’s relatives had not been asked what the person’s views had been in

Over the last decade, there have been considerable and consistent concerns expressed by judges about detaining children and young people in inappropriate, unregulated placements. Social work professionals involved in making deprivation of liberty order applications will benefit from reading this new guidance on what judges will be thinking about when considering such applications. You can find the guidance at the link below: Edge Training run a course on DoL, Children & You

The Secretary of State for Health, Wes Streeting has committed to reforming the Mental Capacity Act after ITV News highlighted multiple cases of vulnerable adults not getting assessments of mental capacity leading to potential risks and harm to those individuals. The minister stated: ‘So we are looking at this actively, we're determined to take action. That will include a review of, and ultimately reform of, the Mental Capacity Act.’ It would appear a key element of reform wo

A recent investigation by ITV news has raised concerns about families of people with learning disabilities being prevented from seeing them freely. The news item stated: ‘An ITV News investigation found more than 100 families who say their visiting rights to their loved ones with learning disabilities have been restricted, after they complained about negligent or poor care.’... ‘The so-called "contact restrictions" are put in place by care homes, NHS bodies, or local authorit

We are pleased to extend our 25% discount to non-profit and CICs for any of our training and consultancy services. This includes our DoLS Conference on 5th June - click HERE for details To request a discount code for your organisation, please email events@edgetraining.org.uk

As many of our readers with an interest in the Mental Health Act will know, there has been a legal change relating to patients subject to Conditional Discharge and how a deprivation of their liberty may be lawfully authorised. As it is rare for DoLS teams to deal with cases of people subject to Conditional Discharge, it can be challenging to understand this particular element of th e eligibility assessment and legal criteria. At the 2026 DoLS Conference, former Court of Pr

The Ombudsman has recently found a local authority and ICB were at fault for there repeated failure to work together over funding of woman’s combined health and social care needs. This caused a prolonged delay in discharging the woman from hospital. The Ombudsman found the local authority and the ICB at fault for failing to manage a funding dispute adequately. They ordered the two organisations to each pay £250 in recognition of the stress and frustration caused to the woman’

The latest figures from the Ministry of Justice show there were 1,439 applications to the High Court to detain children during the year 2025. Of these applications: 155 were for children aged 12 or under 834 were for children aged 13-15 years old 445 were for children aged 16-18 years old Such applications are needed where a child is deprived of their liberty in a place where a secure order under the Children Act cannot be made (not living in a registered secure placement). O