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The person you care for may lack capacity to make decisions about money, health and other matters. You may need to help them to make those decisions, or you may have to act or make decisions on their behalf. The Mental Capacity Act is a law that sets out what should happen when this happens.
If you have mental capacity, it means that you are able to make your own decisions. The legal definition says that someone who lacks capacity cannot do one or more of the following four things:
We all have problems making decisions from time to time, but the Mental Capacity Act is about more than that. It is specifically designed to cover situations where someone is unable to make a decision because their mind or brain is affected, for instance, by illness or disability, or the effects of drugs or alcohol.
A lack of mental capacity could be due to:
In all of these instances the person may lack capacity to make particular decisions at particular times. Capacity is decision specific; it does not necessarily mean that they lack all capacity to make any decisions at all. A person with a learning disability may lack the capacity to make major decisions but this does not necessarily mean that they cannot decide what to eat, wear and do each day. A person with a mental health condition may be unable to make decisions when they are unwell, but able to make them when they are well, this is referred to as fluctuating capacity.
Anyone in a position where they might need to make a decision for someone who may lack capacity must decide whether that person is able to make the decision on their own. In many cases that decision will be your responsibility. There will be times when a professional will need to make a decision about the person’s capacity. The Act says that before you, or anyone else, acts on behalf of someone else they must have a ‘reasonable belief’ that the person lacks capacity to make the decision for themselves. Anyone – a health or care professional, other professional, relative or carer – might need to decide if a person has the capacity to make a particular decision.
You may be involved in assessing capacity in two ways:
You will need to think about this for ‘big’ decisions such as where to live, and for everyday decisions about what to eat or what to wear. Just because the person makes a different decision from the one you would make or a decision you consider to be unwise does not mean that they lack capacity to make that decision.
If a person does not have capacity to make the decision for themselves, then others will have to act in their best interests. Some people plan ahead and may have written an advance decision where they specified what sort of treatment they would not want to receive. Or they may have stated what sort of care of treatment they are willing to receive. Or they may have appointed an attorney to make certain decisions on their behalf.
Sometimes the Court of Protection will appoint a person to make decisions on their behalf called a ‘deputy’. If there is no relevant attorney or deputy with the necessary authority to make the decision in question someone else will have to decide what should happen. Depending on the particular decision, this could be you, or a professional. Whoever makes the decision must make it in the person’s best interests and in accordance with the principles of the Act.
If a person does not have capacity to make the decision for themselves, then others will have to act in their best interests. Some people plan ahead and may have written an advance decision where they specified what sort of treatment they would not want to receive. Or they may have stated what sort of care of treatment they are willing to receive. Or they may have appointed an attorney to make certain decisions on their behalf.
Sometimes the Court of Protection will appoint a person to make decisions on their behalf called a ‘deputy’. If there is no relevant attorney or deputy with the necessary authority to make the decision in question someone else will have to decide what should happen. Depending on the particular decision, this could be you, or a professional. Whoever makes the decision must make it in the person’s best interests and in accordance with the principles of the Act.
By registering with us as a carer you will get access to a whole range of services, including advice, information, access to our groups, events and carers grants.
You can book a call with one of our support workers and talk to them about any of your concerns.
