This tool kit is designed provide information and support for the application of the Mental Capacity Act to GPs and primary care staff.

This booklet has been designed as part of project about bipolar disorder. It covers the Mental Capacity Act; advance decisions to refuse treatment; statements of wishes and feelings; lasting power of attorney; and tips for managing everyday finances.

The guide provides practical assistance to anyone who supports an individual to make decisions about their finances. It covers the legislation that governs financial decision-making and makes practical suggestions about how to: empower and support an individual with making decisions about their finances; assess an individual’s capacity in relation to financial decision-making in a way which is decision-specific; apply the Mental Capacity Act to an individual’s situation; and enable decision making by individuals wherever possible.

Advocacy helps to ensure that individuals are in control of their own lives and are supported to make their own decisions. This good practice guide has been developed to help professionals and advocates to decide on the most appropriate route to take to challenge decisions about an individual’s care. It will help advocates to develop a ‘tool-kit’ of different approaches to get the best possible outcome for people depending on their views and the situation. The guide discusses when it is most appropriate to use informal approaches to challenge decisions; the skills required to be effective when taking this approach, including negotiating and influencing; and using Best Interests meetings. It also looks at using formal routes to challenge decisions through the Mental Capacity Act 2005, Mental Health Act 1983, the Care Act 2014, and through formal complaints processes and judicial review. The guide provides useful case examples and makes reference to relevant sections within Acts and Statutory Guidance to illustrate key points. The guide is relevant for professionals across the health and social care sectors, as well as for friends and family members who are supporting a friend or relative.

This Guidance aims to demystify the Court of Protection generally and the role of litigation friend specifically so as to enable more people to consider taking up the role – thereby ensuring the better promotion and protection of the rights of those said to be lacking capacity to take their own decisions.

Although the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) has implications for other aspects of Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS), this article focuses on the possible relevance of the MCA in the management of the over-eating behaviour and risk of life-threatening obesity associated with the syndrome. Although people with PWS are capable of making decisions about many areas of their life, dysfunction in areas of the brain that control eating behaviour and energy balance means that they will rarely have the capacity independently to make decisions about eating. Even if they can make a decision at one point in time, this may not be the case at other times, particularly in the absence of supervision or environmental restrictions on access to food. The document covers the existing legal provisions and ethical considerations for people with PWS, including decision-making capacity and Deprivation of Liberty.

Safeguarding Adult Reviews (SARs) can be a valuable source of learning to improve mental health care. In light of the government’s commitment to reform the Mental Health Act 1983, this report summarises the qualitative learning from 77 SARs published across 24 London boroughs covering the period January 2017 to November 2020. The premise of this report is that the reform of the Mental Health Act will also prompt a ‘wake up’ of the entire mental health system in London and the rest of England in which parity of social care with health care becomes the ‘new normal’. The SARs analysed for this report tell the stories of Londoners who experienced mental health problems and came to harm or died as a consequence of their condition despite having been in contact with mental health care services and others. From the rapid analysis of the SARs case clusters emerged, with similarities in the individuals’ stories and outcomes. These clusters show that there might be groups of people who require particular attention when it comes to reforming the Mental Health Act – and with it the mental health social care ‘offer’. The stories of these individuals also raise some concerns around human rights, equality and inclusion with the question: Is enough being done to protect the rights of vulnerable people with mental health problems who receive mental health social care and who may rely on social care to respect these rights? The analysis further suggests that there are two major problem areas across virtually all the cases and clusters – professional knowledge and usage of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and inter-agency working and communication.

This practical guide includes information to understand how treatment and care decisions are made, how individuals can plan ahead to ensure they stay in control of these decisions, and who to talk to and share their wishes with.

This booklet supports individuals to talk about their wishes for care and treatment with their family, friends and doctor.

This is the transparency order template, and includes explanations and guidance. The Court of Protection is testing a new way of having hearings. For the time being, hearings will be in public, but no-one will be allowed to name the people involved. If individuals want their hearing to be in private instead, they can ask the judge. They will need to explain in writing why their case should be treated differently to the other cases.

This report explores the context in which the decision of whether to use the MHA or the MCA to authorise a deprivation of liberty is made and the different factors that practitioners use to assess and weigh up which Act is most appropriate and ‘least restrictive’ for the individual concerned. The research used a mixed-methods approach with an online survey to capture the diversity of factors that influence decision-making across clinical groups, and qualitative interviews with clinicians and professionals to explore in depth their understanding of the interface and experiences of making this decision in practice. A large proportion of participants in this research report encountering people to whom this decision applies at least once a month, if not weekly. This decision most commonly applies to people who have dementia, but also to people with a wide range of mental disorders, including those with functional mental illnesses, neurodevelopment and neurological conditions. Participants report most commonly applying this decision to people in community settings, but application also occurs in mental health and acute hospitals including in the emergency department. There is a lack of common understanding around fundamental issues on which this decision is based including core concepts of capacity and objection. Blanket rules exist within professional groups and across different settings that restrict decision-making. The rights afforded to people admitted and treated in some settings and areas of England may not be afforded to those in others. The majority of participants report that their training covered decision-making at the interface of the Acts. However, codes of practice and case law are described as difficult to understand and keep up to date with. Understanding clinical decision-making at the in. Practitioners highlight a number of different ways in which patients are unlawfully deprived of their liberty as a result of the factors outlined above.

Annual report of the Chair of the National Mental Capacity Forum, covering the Forum’s work over the year, the Chair’s priorities for the coming year, and details of Forum members. Each chapter describes the achievements and ongoing work against the four priorities for 2017: Improving understanding; Hearing the voice of the person; Supporting carers; and Reducing and preventing exploitation. Achievements include the development of guidelines and training material for front line staff in the financial and banking sector and increased awareness of fraud and scam and the risks for people ‘in vulnerable circumstances.’ The report includes illustrative good practice examples of initiatives relevant to the implementation of the Mental Capacity Act.