VULNERABLE people in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole are having to wait longer for applications from carers to make decisions on their behalf, figures show, with one person left in limbo for over six years.

Mental health charity Mind said it is "disgraceful" that anyone in the country should be forced to wait a year or more for their application to be processed.

Hospitals and care homes must apply to councils for Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards to make decisions for anyone thought to lack the mental capacity to do so themselves, such as those with dementia or serious mental health problems.

There is currently a legal maximum time limit of 21 days for applications to be processed.

NHS Digital data shows BCP Council completed 1,975 applications in 2020-21, with each one taking 175 days on average.

This was up from an average of 145 days the year before.

Only around 18 per cent of the 285 standard applications completed last year were processed within the target time.

And one application had taken over six years (2,453 days) to be finalised.

The average time to complete an application across England rose from 142 days in 2019-20, to 148 last year – with one in the London borough of Merton taking over 10 years.

Mind said DoLS were intended to protect some of the most at risk members of society, but they have been "riddled with problems" and left thousands of people without vital legal protection.

Alison Cobb, specialist policy advisor at the charity, said: "These delays mean that people are being deprived of liberty without the right safeguards, as providers cannot use all the protective legislation.

“It is a disgraceful breach of human rights that people are waiting a year or longer for their DoLS application to be processed.

"This can mean that they endure unnecessary delays to being placed in the best care setting for them, which would help to protect them from harm."

The Government has committed to replacing the safeguards with Liberty Protection Safeguards in April 2022, but Mind fears these will also fail to put individual needs at the heart of the process.

A spokesperson for BCP Council said: "Referrals are processed within 1 working day of receipt, and triaged as to the priority level for assessment. Many assessments are completed within the 21 days, however lower priority referrals where people are happy with the arrangements for their care take longer to reach an outcome.

"Due to Covid, staff have been diverted to other essential services, and so the number of people available to undertake assessments in the last year has diminished. Also, assessments have taken longer as they have had to be undertaken remotely. Our triage process is robust and we work with providers to monitor if a person’s circumstances change or they or their families are unhappy with their care arrangements.

"The Government has acknowledged that the current law is not fit for purpose and new legislation (known as the Liberty Protection Safeguards) is due to be implemented next year which will help us to robustly safeguard more people, because it will be less bureaucratic. In the meantime we are increasing our ability to undertake assessments which will also help shorten wait times.

"We take deprivation of liberty very seriously, and would encourage anyone who is concerned about someone waiting for an assessment to contact Adult Social Care. We work openly and proactively with individuals, their families and providers to ensure that care arrangements are in a person’s best interests."