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Woman in wheelchair signing consent form

Mental Capacity and informed consent

Consent refers to a person’s voluntary assent to a particular action, decision or interaction. There are many different types of consent. These include:

  • Implied consent – where no verbal or written consent has been given, but an action by the individual in question suggests their agreement. For example, if a patient offers their arm to have their blood pressure taken.  
  • Informed consent – requires an explicit understanding of all the relevant facts, including risks and available alternatives. Usually, information is provided in order to help the person to understand what is proposed and why. This type of consent is often associated with medical procedures in healthcare settings; it is also often formalised with a physical signature on a consent form.
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Supporting capacity with augmentative communication aids

Top 10 blogs on Mental Capacity and the Mental Capacity Act

In the last 18 months, we have published 100 blog posts on topics relating to Mental Capacity and the Mental Capacity Act (2005). In that time, we’ve covered a diverse range of subjects from Lasting Power of Attorney, to least restrictive practice, the causative nexus, and much more besides! We’ve also recently launched a series of mini case studies using characters from famous film and TV shows as a way to think about capacity around decisions.

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Manor house on a misty day

Case study: The diagnostic step and the causative nexus

The diagnostic step is a simple but often misunderstood part of the Mental Capacity Assessment. One of the most common errors is to simply list a medical diagnosis without any explanation of how the diagnosis impacts upon decision-making. However, this link – also known as the causative nexus – is the vital point on which the rest of the assessment is based. It is therefore important to understand exactly why the diagnostic step is important and how to document it properly.

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Man with learning disability getting married

Assessing capacity around unfamiliar topics

There are many elements of daily life that we don’t learn about until we reach certain stages of our lives or have greater levels of independence in our everyday lives. For example, on first moving away from a parents or caregivers home, a whole new world of experiences and responsibilities will suddenly occur. This can be anything from how to change a lightbulb or put up a shelf, to how to organise a loan or buy a car.

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Man sat on a picnic bench, smoking while playing a guitar

Case study: How to document a Mental Capacity Assessment

The way professionals document mental capacity tests can vary greatly across the health and care sectors. In some cases, professionals are not yet using the updated assessment format of Functional and then Diagnostic. More worrying still is that in some cases it’s not just the documentation format that varies, but the quality of the content that is recorded.

In this blog, we examine two example assessments, using the case of Dylan to show the impact documentation can have on the outcomes of an assessment.

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Older lady sat in a community centre, smiling at the camera

Mental Capacity Act (Northern Ireland) 2016: Overview Part 3

Each of us have a Right to Liberty, as outlined in the Human Rights Act (article 5). However, in certain circumstances, these Rights can be significantly reduced and infringed upon. Typically, this would be in a healthcare setting, where certain liberties may be restricted in order to protect the individual, or others, from harm.

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Caravan

Case study: Mental Capacity Assessment for placement decisions

Mental Capacity case studies help us apply knowledge in action. They can help us visualise scenarios and understand processes, as well as challenges, before considering the who, what, when, where and how.

In today’s blog, we start a series of case studies that explore particular aspects of the Mental Capacity Act within everyday practice. To help us with this, we will draw on familiar characters from the worlds of TV, film and literature that give an array of contexts and presentations.

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County Antrim, Northern Ireland

Mental Capacity Act (Northern Ireland) 2016: Overview Part 2

A key focus of the Mental Capacity Act (Northern Ireland) is the Deprivation of Liberty, also known as DoL. While there are some similarities with the MCA for England and Wales, there are some key differences in how the process works in Northern Ireland. In particular, there are two separate Codes of Practice that professionals must adhere to. The process for conducting an assessment is also slightly different.

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