Serving notice upon a care home resident: guidance for care home managers

A decision to serve notice upon a care home resident, particularly a vulnerable adult, or an adult under the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards or the subject of Court of Protection proceedings, can be a difficult decision to make for care home managers. It is important to understand the implications of this and the rights of the resident.

Why might a care home decide to serve notice? There are several reasons why a care home manager might need to make the difficult decision to serve notice upon one of its residents. 

Common examples include:

• The care home may not feel it is able to meet the individual’s needs, particularly if the resident has particularly complex needs or displays challenging behaviour, or resists care interventions.

• The individual has displayed challenging or disruptive behaviours, to the extent that it impacts on the wellbeing of staff or other residents.

• If there has been a particular incident which has caused harm to others or damage to property.

• Those who visit the resident (friends or family members) have been disruptive or have caused upset to staff or other residents, or they have not adhered to policies put in place by the home.

To find out more, you can read Kirstie Lennox's guidance note here. 

You can also catch up on a webinar recording hosted by Care England on Demystifying Court of Protection and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards for Care Home Managers. Healthcare partner, Neil Ward talks to Emma Edwards, Director of Operations and Quality at Together for Mental Wellbeing (TMW) exploring a recent case involving a resident who lacked capacity at one of TMW’s residential settings and was displaying disruptive behaviour to other residents and staff.