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.

This diagram illustrates how police officers and staff apply the Mental Capacity Act 2005 when making health and social care decisions on behalf of people who lack capacity.