Care homes and hospitals are applying for hundreds more elderly people to be locked inside, new data shows.

The figures, published today by the Ministry of Justice, reveal that there were 4,557 applications made by care homes and hospitals relating to Deprivation of Liberty (DoL) orders in 2018. This marked a 14 per cent increase on the previous year where there were 3,995 applications as charities warn that the increasing trend in applications are “deeply worrying”.

DoL’s apply to people with dementia or Alzheimer’s and involves some degree of reducing their independence or free will.

They fall under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 which aims to ensure that any restriction of liberty is often in the person’s best interests.