Explains what the Mental Capacity Act 2005 is and why it matters and is intended to help board members of care providers ensure vulnerable service users are not missing out on protections which are their legal right. The paper briefly discusses: capacity and consent; consent on someone else’s behalf; acting where people lack capacity to make their own decisions; best interests; restraint and restriction of liberty; deprivation of liberty; and ill-treatment and neglect. The paper includes a table setting out some questions board members of care providers might want to ask their officers and managers to get assurance that the MCA is being properly applied throughout their organisations.

This guidance provides a framework to help doctors to make decisions with their patient about their treatment and care. By following it, it will help doctors make sure they have informed consent from their patients. And that they involve families and others when it’s appropriate. It has advice on: what to tell a patient when talking about risks; what to do if a patient doesn’t want to hear information that may be relevant; when to obtain written consent; what needs to be recorded. The guidance will also help doctors when their patients lack capacity (Part 3). It includes a list of things they should consider and has advice on dealing with disagreements.

This document sets out to define the process that professionals should follow when making judgements about a person’s capacity to consent to medical treatment.

This form is to be used where it would be usual to seek written consent but an adult patient (16 or over) lacks capacity to give or withhold consent to treatment.

This guidance covers the key principle of the Mental Capacity Act, assessing capacity and inability to consent, best interests decision making for patients, independent mental capacity advocacy, and deprivation of liberty safeguards.

This flowchart sets out the steps needed to provide care and treatment to patients who re not under DoLS or MHA, patients with a DoLS authorisation, and patients detained under the MHA.

Consent form for examination, care, treatment or support.

Prompt cards on safeguarding adults for staff within health services. The cover: staff responsibilities; categories of abuse; staff role as alerters; information sharing; capacity and consent; the Mental Capacity Act 2005; and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards.

Record of informed consent for voluntary admission/stay in mental health units.

In addition to signposting to MCA and DoLS guidance, this document sets out key steps to ensure the legal and regulatory requirements in relation to consent and capacity are met.

This flashcard briefly describes mental capacity, informed consent and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards.

A case study focusing on a patient for whom an inadequate capacity assessment was carried out. Following IMCA intervention, it was discovered that lack of capacity had been assumed and the IMCA set about undertaking an accurate capacity assessment. The patient, however, passed away before this could be completed. The case study has been drawn together by the Department of Health, the Care Quality Commission, and POhWER, a major provider of advocacy services, and aims to show how IMCAs can act as a powerful support to people who may lack capacity.