While the Mental Capacity Act (2005) is a statutory piece of legislation, that is actively required within the healthcare setting, it is not a part of ‘mandatory’ training that health and care professionals are required to undertake. This is one of the many reasons why the application of the Mental Capacity Act is so inconsistent between different care homes and between different healthcare providers.
Read More »Mental Capacity training in care homes
The Mental Capacity Act (2005) has five core principles that establish the guiding values of the legislation that it lays out. Principle #1 is the presumption of capacity – that a person’s decision-making for a specific matter at a specific time is assumed, and that the person themselves has ‘nothing to prove’.
Read More »Displacing the presumption of capacity
The Mental Capacity Act (2005) includes a list of excluded decisions, which cannot be made on behalf of another individual or in their ‘best interest’. These exclusions are outlined in section 27:
Read More »Mental Capacity Act (2005): Excluded decisions
There are many fantastic resources available to support capacity, provide valuable learning resources and updates for practice. Since we published our last blog on this… Read More »Free resources: Supporting Mental Capacity in practice
The Mental Capacity Act (2005) includes clear direction on how to approach the process of ‘gifting’. This applies to anyone acting as an LPA for Property and Finances, or as anyone assigned the role of Deputy by the Court of Protection.
Read More »Gifting
In this blog, we discuss the different formats of Mental Capacity Assessments and Best Interest Assessments. We also signpost to a range of different forms related to the Mental Capacity Act (2005) that will be of use to assessors.
Read More »Assessment Formats and Related Forms
During the COVID-19 pandemic, a large number of mental capacity assessments were completed remotely, through video platforms such as Microsoft Teams or Zoom. This was to enable staff to conduct ‘safe’ assessments without the risk of infection or transmitting the virus.
Now the pandemic is over, face-to-face assessments have returned to being the norm. However, we do on occasion receive requests for online assessments rather than face-to-face, due to factors such as time, distance or availability.
Read More »Mental Capacity Assessments: Face-to-Face or Remote?
Capacity to engage in sexual relations is an area that is not often discussed in the realm of mental capacity. In this blog we highlight the key case law that guides the assessment of capacity to engage in sexual relations alongside two separate but interrelated forms of capacity: Contact Capacity and Contraception Capacity.
Read More »Capacity to engage in sexual relations
The Mental Capacity Act (2005: 24) defines an Advance Decision to Refuse Treatment (ADRT) as: a decision made by a person (“P”), after [they have]… Read More »What is an Advance Decision to Refuse Treatment (ADRT)?
Litigation capacity is a person’s ability to conduct legal proceedings. It is a dynamic and longitudinal process, requiring active understanding, retention and use of salient information to weigh up related decisions and give direction to a legal representative.
Read More »What is litigation capacity and why is it important?