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You can ask the person’s doctor or another medical professional to assess their mental capacity. Follow the Mental Capacity Act code of practice when you check mental capacity.
Assessors can be anyone – for example, family members, a care worker, a care service manager, a nurse, a doctor or a social worker. It is the responsibility of everyone who makes decisions on behalf of others to recognise their role and responsibilities under the code of practice. When are assessments of capacity made?
Normally, the person who is involved with the particular decision which needs to be made is the one who would assess mental capacity. If the decision is a complex one then a professional opinion might be necessary, for example the opinion of a psychiatrist, psychologist, social worker etc.
A person with a duty of care must assess capacity to make a particular decision at the time the decision needs to be made, and should not assume that a person cannot make any decision. A person’s loss of capacity may be temporary, and capacity may fluctuate.
Because assessments of capacity can relate to small everyday decisions, such as choosing your lunch, the range of staff involved in capacity assessments is wide, including psychiatrists, social workers and care home staff.
If someone lacks the capacity to make a decision and the decision needs to be made for them, the MCA states the decision must be made in their best interests.
To have mental capacity you must understand the decision you need to make, why you need to make it, and the likely outcome of your decision. Some people will be able to make decisions about some things but not others.
In a practical sense, physicians, psychologists, and nurse practitioners (APRNs) can determine if a patient has decision-making capacity by whether the patient can give informed consent or refusal.
Social workers employed in long term care settings may have a responsibility for ongoing assessment of capacity and may serve as advocates to ensure that the client or guardian’s wishes are being respected in the care of the client.
The Public Guardian – the role of the Public Guardian is to protect people who lack capacity from abuse. … Advance decisions to refuse treatment – the Act creates statutory rules with clear safeguards so that people may make a decision in advance to refuse treatment if they should lack capacity in the future.
A person’s capacity to make a decision can be affected by a range of factors such as a stroke, dementia, a learning disability or a mental illness. People with a mental illness do not necessarily lack capacity.
Some types of decisions (such as marriage or civil partnership, divorce, sexual relationships, adoption and voting) can never be made by another person on behalf of a person who lacks capacity.
A person lacks capacity if their mind is impaired or disturbed in some way, which means they’re unable to make a decision at that time. Examples of how a person’s brain or mind may be impaired include: mental health conditions – such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. dementia.
Get help checking mental capacity
You can ask the person’s doctor or another medical professional to assess their mental capacity. Follow the Mental Capacity Act code of practice when you check mental capacity.
An IMCA should help you: When an NHS body wants to provide serious medical treatment to you. When there are plans to give you long-term accommodation in hospital (more than 28 days) or in a care home (more than 8 weeks). However, if the arrangements are urgent, the NHS body does not have to appoint an IMCA.
The Best Interest Assessor (BIA)
Be a registered social worker; or. Be a qualified and registered first level nurse, Occupational Therapist or chartered Psychologist; and. Have had at least 2 years post qualifying experience; and. Have successfully completed approved Best Interest Assessor training; and.
The DoLS assessment makes sure that the care being given to the person with dementia is in the person’s best interests. There are six parts to the assessment: age, mental health, mental capacity, best interests, eligibility and no refusals.
Capacity is defined as “a functional determination that an individual is or is not capable of making a medical decision within a given situation” [1]. … Competency is defined as “the ability of an individual to participate in legal proceedings”.
The Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) is a significant piece of legislation affecting people who may lack the capacity to make their own decisions. It promotes autonomy and empowerment of individuals and protects their rights particularly to make their own decisions.
Carers are not expected to be experts in assessing capacity and it is therefore sufficient for them to hold a ‘reasonable belief’ that the person they are caring for lacks capacity to make a particular decision in order to receive statutory protection from liability.
If the patient lacks capacity and you believe they are being neglected or physically, sexually or emotionally abused, you must inform an appropriate responsible person or statutory agency, in line with local arrangements. In most cases, concerns should be raised with the local Safeguarding Adults Board (or equivalent).