The Myth of Next of kin: why you need a lasting power of attorney

Part of National Mental Capacity Forum

This video sets out the importance of Lasting Powers of Attorney and Advance Decisions to Refuse Treatment, both part of the Mental Capacity Act, as the best ways to maintain your control over decision-making.

Mental Capacity Act 2005

Part of Mental Capacity Act (MCA)

This At a glance summary presents an overview of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005, which is important to health and social care practice.

Using the Mental Capacity Act

Part of Mental Capacity Act (MCA)

This video explains the key principles of the MCA and how they work in practice. It looks at how the MCA supports everyone to plan for their future, for when they may have impaired capacity.

Mental Capacity Act: using the key principles in care planning

Part of Mental Capacity Act (MCA)

The film looks at the five key principles of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA), and how these can be applied to the care planning process.

MCA: Deprivation of liberty (DoL) in light of the Supreme Court judgment: explaining the 2014 changes

Part of Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS)

This film looks at how the Supreme Court judgement affects people’s working lives in practice, by looking in detail at two real-life case studies.

MCA: Deprivation of liberty (DoL) in light of the Supreme Court judgment: messages for practice

Part of Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS)

This video for health and care professionals looks at how the 2014 Supreme Court judgment on deprivation of liberty affects people working in the area of mental capacity. It looks in detail at two real-life case studies.

Improving equality of access to Independent Mental Health Advocacy (IMHA): a report for providers

Part of Independent Mental Health Advocacy (IMHA)

This report aims to help Independent Mental Health Advocate (IMHA) services reach everyone who is entitled to their support. It aims to help IMHA providers to achieve the best possible outcomes for all people treated under the Mental Health Act 1983 amended in 2007. Drawing directly on the findings and recommendations of the national review of the quality of IMHA services in England, the report highlights the problem of unequal uptake of IMHA by some groups of ‘qualifying patients' and explores what can be done to change this situation. It highlights the obligations of IMHA services under the Equality Act (2010) and provides concrete suggestions about how to take effective action and improve practice when working with people sharing relevant protected characteristics. It also suggest steps that IMHA providers can take to help them identify, understand, and address the barriers to the full and effective use of their service by everyone who is entitled to access it.

Understanding Independent Mental Health Advocacy (IMHA) for mental health staff

This accessible five minute film focusses on mental health staff’s legal responsibilities to refer people for Independent mental health advocacy, how they can support advocates and the benefits for staff.

Practical approaches to minimising restraint

This video for health and care managers and staff gives two very different fictionalised examples of how good practice in care needs to take account of an individual's human rights.

What does a good IMHA service look like?

Part of Independent Mental Health Advocacy (IMHA)

A self-assessment tool which enables IMHA providers to self-assess their service within a clear quality framework and help them understand what a good IMHA service looks like. The tool lists ten indicators with suggested evidence sources for self-assessment. The quality indicators covered are: values, independence, role clarity, co-production, relationships to other forms of advocacy provision, staffing, equality and diversity, accessibility of the service, relationship with mental health services, and monitoring and self-evaluation. A third column allows IMHA providers to rate themselves using red, amber and green traffic lights. Providers can then summarises their key strengths and areas for development.