Determination Of Mental Capacity Essay
The legal background:
Determination of mental capacity:
The issue of mental capacity is significant as approximately two million people in the UK are estimated to lack capacity as a result of learning difficulties, acute medical or mental illness that impair on their brain function . Furthermore, 30% of patients admitted to an acute medical ward and 44% on a psychiatric ward may lack mental capacity to make decision pertaining to the episode for which they are admitted , , . The Mental Capacity Act (2005) which applies to people in England and Wales aged 16 years and over provides a statutory framework to protect and empower individuals that are unable to make their own decisions. The Act simplifies assessment of capacity and encourages this …show more content…
The MCA makes the assessment of capacity easy through the two-stage functional test, which is a ‘decision specific’ test. The first stage of this functional test of capacity is for the assessor to determine if there is a disturbance of or impairment in the functioning of the person’s mind or brain, and then move on to the second stage of the test, which is to determine if that impairment is sufficient enough for the person to be unable to make the decision in question. This test is subjective because determination of capacity rest solely on the opinion of the assessor. This makes it very important for the assessor to abide by the key principle of the MCA, and begin their assessment on the assumption that the person in question has mental capacity until proven otherwise. Furthermore, it is important to note that mental capacity is a dynamic process that is subject to change, either improve or decline over time. The onus therefore rest on the attending physician to vigilantly re-evaluate the situation and determine if mental capacity is intact for the particular decision to be made. The assessment of capacity is ‘task-specific’, it focuses on the specific decision that needs to be made at the specific time the decision is
Determination of mental capacity:
The issue of mental capacity is significant as approximately two million people in the UK are estimated to lack capacity as a result of learning difficulties, acute medical or mental illness that impair on their brain function . Furthermore, 30% of patients admitted to an acute medical ward and 44% on a psychiatric ward may lack mental capacity to make decision pertaining to the episode for which they are admitted , , . The Mental Capacity Act (2005) which applies to people in England and Wales aged 16 years and over provides a statutory framework to protect and empower individuals that are unable to make their own decisions. The Act simplifies assessment of capacity and encourages this …show more content…
The MCA makes the assessment of capacity easy through the two-stage functional test, which is a ‘decision specific’ test. The first stage of this functional test of capacity is for the assessor to determine if there is a disturbance of or impairment in the functioning of the person’s mind or brain, and then move on to the second stage of the test, which is to determine if that impairment is sufficient enough for the person to be unable to make the decision in question. This test is subjective because determination of capacity rest solely on the opinion of the assessor. This makes it very important for the assessor to abide by the key principle of the MCA, and begin their assessment on the assumption that the person in question has mental capacity until proven otherwise. Furthermore, it is important to note that mental capacity is a dynamic process that is subject to change, either improve or decline over time. The onus therefore rest on the attending physician to vigilantly re-evaluate the situation and determine if mental capacity is intact for the particular decision to be made. The assessment of capacity is ‘task-specific’, it focuses on the specific decision that needs to be made at the specific time the decision is