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Our scrutiny of approved welfare guardianship orders and visits to adults on guardianship

 

In 2008-09 we scrutinised approved guardianship applications in 1,079 cases. This often involved asking specific questions or requesting information from:

  • the MHO involved in the application;
  • the supervising social worker, or the nominated officer carrying out the role of the Chief Social Work Officer where he or she was appointed as guardian;
  • the adult;
  • the adult's private guardian; and
  • care providers.

As a result of this work we went on to visit 433 visits to adults on welfare guardianship. The purpose of these visits was to assure ourselves that the Adults with Incapacity Act 2000 is being implemented in accordance with the principles of the legislation.

The adults on guardianship we visited had incapacity caused by the following mental disorders:

  • learning disability (including autistic spectrum disorder): 59%
  • dementia: 29%
  • acquired brain injury and alcohol related brain damage: 16%
  • mental illness: 12%

As a result of our visits we followed up a number of issues in respect of individual cases. We recorded 216 separate issues which we followed up as a result of these visits. These were classified as relating to (in descending order):

  • accommodation;
  • activity levels;
  • finances;
  • level of social work input;
  • legal concerns;
  • protection/safety;
  • physical health; and
  • mental health.