The Supreme Court's judgment on deprivation of liberty

You may be aware that the Supreme Court has recently issued a judgment which significantly changes the legal approach to determining whether a person is deprived of their liberty. The judgement can be seen here A Reference by the Attorney General for Northern Ireland of a devolution issue under paragraph 34 o….

We would encourage you to familiarise yourselves with the judgment and carefully consider the implications for your services and practice. Please see the following links for further information: CQC statement on the Supreme Court's judgment on deprivation of liberty - Care Quality Commission and 2026-UKSC-16-Summary-for-website.pdf.

We ask that you refer to this updated position when making any new referrals to the DoLS team.  In addition, as the change came into effect immediately from 2 June, please review any recent DoLS referrals you have made. You should consider whether, in light of this revised approach, any of these referrals may no longer be appropriate.

We hope this offers reassurance whilst we wait for additional National guidance to be disseminated.  At this stage we don’t have further information, but if you have a specific query, you can contact the MCA DoLS Duty Team at Dolforms@essex.gov.uk

Essex County Council - Provider Hub
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The Essex Care Search website has been created to help people find a care home either for themselves, a relative or a loved one.

You can use the website to search for an older people residential or nursing care home within Essex and refine the results based on location, the type of care, and facilities the home can provide.

Our public guidance document for Essex Care Search is linked below.

Public User Guidance

A playlist to our public video guides demonstrating how to use some of the key features in Essex Care Search can be accessed below. The links will open YouTube in a new window.

Public Video Guides Playlist

Use the following link to access the Essex Care Search website: www.essexcaresearch.org

Please note Essex Care Search is not supported on the Microsoft Internet Explorer web browser, we recommend using either Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome.

Contact Us

If you need any help with the Essex Care Search system, please contact:

Tel: 03330 322 939
Email: support@essexcaresearch.org

Public Frequently Asked Questions

We recommend using either Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome to access Essex Care Search?

The system is not supported on Microsoft Internet Explorer

The Essex Care Search website is free to use, does not require an account to be created or ask for any personal information to carry out a care home search.

No, the public can view vacancies in Essex Care Search, but it is not currently possible for the public to book beds. Please contact the provider directly to enquire about booking a vacant bed.

Last updated: 22/04/2026
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