Introduced as part of the Mental Capacity Act 2005, deprivation of liberty safeguards (DoLS) aim to make sure that people in registered care homes and hospitals are looked after in a way that does not inappropriately restrict their freedom. DoLS should ensure someone is only deprived of their liberty in a safe and correct way, and that this is only done in their best interests and when there is no other way to look after them. There is a separate process for a person who is deprived of their liberty in a domestic setting.
