On 17 July 2012, the NHS Information Centre published its annual report on DOLS assessments. The report is now into its third year. It covers the period 1 April 2011 – 31 March 2012.

The key findings are set out at pages 4 and 5. These include:  

  • There has been a year on year increase in the number of applications. For 2011/12 there were 11,393 applications. This is a 59 per cent increase since 2009/10
  • The number of people subject to standard authorisations stood at 1976 in December 2011
  • Over half the applications were granted – 53 per cent.
  • Dementia accounted for 53 per cent of all applications
  • Local authorities completed a higher proportion of applications (72 per cent) than PCTs
  • Less than one in ten authorisations were granted for more than one year
  • 58 per cent of applications relate to people over 74
  • There remain wide variations by region.