Cloak & dagger in the Court of Protection? (Pt 2)

• The hearing following disclosure of the surreptitious medication duplicity in Re A (Covert Medication: Closed Proceedings).
• The decision’s lawfulness in excluding from the hearings the mother of the young woman at the centre of the case.
• The practice of covert medication and the lack of legal safeguards surrounding its use.

I recently provided a detailed history of Re A (Covert Medication: Closed Proceedings) [2022] EWCOP 44 (See Pt 1, 172 NLJ 8005, pp9-10). Here, I cover the hearing following disclosure of the surreptitious medication duplicity, reflect on the decision’s lawfulness in excluding B, the mother of the young woman at the centre of this case, from hearings, and discuss the practice of covert medication itself.

Background

Initially, a brief outline is provided for those coming to the case anew.

A, who had mild learning disability and Asperger’s