Heat-health alert for East of England

An amber heat-health warning has been issued by the UKHSA. The warning is in effect from the night of 26 June 2026 through to the morning of 28 Jun 2026. Please ensure you keep up to date with weather reports reports and plan accordingly.

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
Text size:

Domiciliary Care Toolkit

Fire Safety

How to reduce the risk of fire when using:

  1. Home oxygen therapy (oxygen cylinders and portable units)
  2. Dynamic airflow pressure relieving mattresses and overlays
  3. Incontinence products (pads and underwear)

Frailty

Health Conditions

Nutrition / Hydration

Sensory - Sight and Hearing Loss

ECL Sensory team have developed some useful videos and resources to help care staff to have a better understanding of how to support people with sight and hearing loss.

Although the resource is primarily aimed at Care homes the messages and videos are applicable to Domiciliary Care as well. 

Support for Residents with Sight & Hearing Loss

Last updated: 12/11/2025