Heat-health alert for East of England

A red heat-health warning has been issued by the UKHSA. The warning is in effect from the morning of 24 June 2026 through to the night of 25 Jun 2026. Please ensure you keep up to date with weather reports reports and plan accordingly.

UKHSA weather warning guidance

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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Market Context

The Council provides social care support and services for adults with a sensory impairment who are predominantly aged 18 - 65, however some people may be over 65. Some people with a sensory impairment may also have a physical impairment or dementia. 

Sensory Impairment can be hearing or visual loss for a person. In some instances, adults may have a Dual Sensory Impairment and may require help for both Impairments. In these circumstances adults will need support to adapt to their needs; this may include environmental adaptations, equipment, training, support in how to communicate to live in the community and helping to live independently. Some adults in this cohort are likely to require longer term support depending on their circumstances and needs.

Short term respite services can be provided to the unpaid carers due to the long-term nature of the impairments. Carers have given feedback to the Council that it can be difficult to accommodate planned respite breaks far in advance, it is considerably easier to plan more immediate respite care.

The Council provides both community and accommodation-based services for this cohort, via specific and framework contracts. Some contracts allow for providers to enter the market at set periods. For more information refer to the following services/contracts:

A financial assessment may be undertaken on adults who are in receipt of certain services. The adult can either have a managed service via one of the Council's contracts, or manage their own support via a direct payment, personal health budget or individual service fund. 

A sensory contract is now in place for five years, effective until October 2028. Specific work has been undertaken to transform our sensory service, ensuring it is future-proof for residents in Essex. Based on feedback from service users, the current contract reflects an increased role for the voluntary sector in providing sensory services for people in Essex and has facilitated the growth of specialist sensory rehabilitation services.

The COVID impact highlighted is:

  • A number of lessons that have been learnt through covid-19 in terms of challenges that people with sensory impairment face have been incorporated into our sensory model.

Current market risks:

  • Limited specialist sensory providers in Essex to provide an all-age sensory service; we will develop the market to mitigate this.
  • Qualified sensory rehabilitation officers for sensory are scarce and this is being mitigated by ‘growing our own’ qualified offices by offering apprenticeships and training existing social care staff

Our current area of focus is:

  • Gaps in the existing contract delivery are being addressed via reshaping the sensory model for people in Essex    
    • challenges in all age delivery of the contract
    • use of digital innovation and technology
    • working a lot more collaboratively with voluntary sector providers
    •  preparing the service for increased demand of sensory services in the future
    • growing our own qualified sensory rehabilitation officers
  • Addressing accommodation solutions for people with a sensory impairment

Working closely with health partners and alliances to improve outcomes for people with a sensory impairment

Last updated: 01/04/2025
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