NINE in ten applications to allow carers to make decisions for vulnerable people in Dorset take longer than the legal time limit to be processed - leading to claims people are forced to live in care homes unlawfully and against their will. Hospitals and care homes must apply to councils for permission to make decisions for anyone thought to lack the mental capacity to make them for themselves, such as those with dementia or serious mental health problems. There is a legal time limit of 21 days for standard applications to be processed. NHS Digital data shows Dorset Council dealt with ...