Yes. We have had some questions recently during training courses about the professional responsibility of BIAs. The DoLS Code of Practice reminds us that:
'Assessors act as individual professionals and are personally accountable for their decisions. Managing authorities and supervisory bodies must not dictate or seek to influence their decisions.'
It is worth noting that this applies even if the BIA is employed by the supervisory body. In practice, this means that the BIA may be questioned (and named) in the Court of Protection about the content of their reports and the reasoning behind their recommendations such as, who they recommended to act as the Relevant Person's Representative (RPR), duration and of course, whether they conducted a legally compliant best interests assessment.
For examples of case law on this please see the DoLS Case Law Sheet. For more detailed case law and specific practice guidance for BIAs, see pages 150 to 152 of The DoLS Handbook
Click HERE to view all Edge Events