A general guide on how the Mental Capacity Act affects you and how you can plan ahead for when you no longer have the mental capacity to make decisions for yourself.
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Under the Mental Capacity Act, someone could make decisions on your behalf relating to your:
These could include decisions on whether to have:
These are not the only types of healthcare decisions, but are just examples of what might be included.
If you lack capacity, there are many other 'routine actions' that carers or professionals can make for you without needing any legal authority or permission from a court.
These routine actions include:
Section 5 of the Mental Capacity Act says that whatever decision they make must be in your best interests.
A carer or professional should not make any healthcare decisions on your behalf if:
These are day-to-day actions generally necessary for your welfare.
These include:
If you have lost the capacity to decide about these actions, they can usually be taken for you by carers, family members and health and care professionals without the need for permission from a court as long as they are in your best interests.
Your carers, family members and health and care professionals cannot make decisions related to the following day-to-day actions:
If you want to plan ahead for when you will no longer have capacity to make decisions for yourself, you could consider making:
If you lose capacity and you haven't made an advance decision or appointed an attorney, the Court of Protection can:
A deputy is a person the Court of Protection appoints to make decisions for you once you have lost capacity to make them yourself. A deputy usually makes decisions about finances and property. The court can appoint a deputy to take healthcare and personal care decisions, though this is relatively rare.
See our full list of legal terms.The Court of Protection makes decisions and appoints deputies to act on your behalf if you are unable to make decisions about your personal health, finance or welfare.
See our pages on the Mental Capacity Act for more information.
See our full list of legal terms.'Capacity' means the ability to understand information and make decisions about your life. Sometimes it can also mean the ability to communicate decisions about your life.
For example, if you do not understand the information and are unable to make a decision about your treatment, you are said to 'lack capacity' to make decisions about your treatment.
See our pages on the Mental Capacity Act for more information.
See our full list of legal terms.This is the mental health professional in charge of your care and treatment while you are sectioned under the Mental Health Act.
Certain decisions, such as applying for someone who is sectioned to go onto a community treatment order (CTO), can only be taken by the responsible clinician.
All responsible clinicians must be approved clinicians. They do not have to be a doctor, but in practice many of them are.
See our full list of legal terms.A lasting power of attorney is a legal document that lets you appoint someone, called an attorney, to make decisions for you.
See our pages on the Mental Capacity Act for more information.
See our full list of legal terms.An IMCA is a specially trained advocate who can help you if you do not have the capacity to make particular decisions. NHS bodies or local authorities must take an IMCA's views into account when making decisions that affect you if you have lost capacity. They are normally appointed by the local authority in England, and by local health boards or other NHS bodies in Wales. They must be independent people of integrity and good character with appropriate experience and training.
See our page on IMCAs for more information.
See our full list of legal terms.Health professionals must act in your best interests before taking certain steps that affect your care and treatment.
The Mental Capacity Act has a best interests checklist, which outlines what health professionals need to consider before taking an action or decision for you while you lack capacity.
See our pages on the Mental Capacity Act for more information.
See our full list of legal terms.An advance decision is a statement of instructions about what medical treatment you want to refuse in case you lose the capacity to make these decisions in the future. It is legally binding.
See our pages on the Mental Capacity Act for more information.
See our full list of legal terms.The Mental Capacity Act 2005 is the law that tells you what you can do to plan ahead in case you can't make decisions for yourself, how you can ask someone else to make decisions for you and who can make decisions for you if you haven't planned ahead.
See our pages on the Mental Capacity Act for more information.
See our full list of legal terms.This information was published in November 2017.
This page is currently under review. All content was accurate when published.
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