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Regular Review

Assessing capacity: lady and man in wheelchair wearing coats looking into the distance

Common errors in Mental Capacity Assessments

I’ve been involved with the field of Mental Capacity for many years now, both as an assessor and an advocate. In this time, I’ve encountered a whole range of common errors and mistakes that come up time and time again.

These errors can have a major impact on a person’s quality of life, and ability to make decisions for themselves. Not only that, but they also leave open the risk that if the Mental Capacity decision is ever to be challenged, then it will quickly be dismissed and overruled by governing bodies such as the Court of Protection.

However, thankfully, most of these errors are easily avoidable and simple to resolve with adequate reflection, preparation and the correct training.