Guidance relating to advance decisions to refuse treatment (ADRTs) and the Mental Health Act 1983.

This introduction provides an overview of the issues health and social care professionals face when capacity and consent for treatment and care are significant and critical challenges. It covers the legal framework and principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005; consent to care and treatment; decisions for those who lack mental capacity; best interest decisions; deprivation of liberty; and collaboration and co-operation between professionals.

This document is part of a series of brief guides to help all health and social care professionals navigate through and apply the principles of the Mental Capacity Act for decisions regarding treatment and care. The guide focuses specifically on the Act requirements for clinical decisions, covering: consent to treatment and care; factors affecting mental capacity to consent to treatment and care; who assesses capacity to consent to treatment and care; checklist for practitioners assessing mental capacity; clinical decisions where the individual lacks capacity to consent to treatment or care.