What are the two stages of assessing mental capacity?
1) Does the patient have any impairment to their mind or brain?
2) Does the impairment mean the person is unable to make specific decisions when they need to?
The MCA says a person is unable to make a decision is they can’t:
- Understand the information relevant to the decision
- Retain that information
- Use or weigh up that information as part of the process making the decision
OR - Communicate their decision back to the clinician
What are the 5 main principles of the MCA?
1) Assume a person has the capacity to make a decision themselves, unless it’s proved otherwise
2) Wherever possible, help the patient to make their own decisions
3) Don’t treat a person as lacking the capacity to make a decision just because they make an unwise decision
4) If you make a decision for someone who doesn’t have capacity, it must be in their best interests
5) Treatment and care provided to someone who lacks capacity should be the least restrictive of their basic rights and freedom
