Mental Capacity

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Capacity should be judged in relation to a specific decision – some decisions are easier to make than others.

Principles of assessing mental capacity:

• A person must be assumed to have capacity unless it is established that he or she lacks capacity.
• A person is not to be treated as unable to make a decision unless all practical steps to help him or her to do so have been taken without success.
• A person is not to be treated as unable to make a decision merely because he or she makes a decision that others believe to be unwise.
• An act carried out, or decision made for or on behalf of a person who lacks capacity must be done, or made, in his or her best interests.

In order to demonstrate decision making capacity, a person should be able to:

• Understand the information relevant to the decision, including the benefits, risks and alternatives, and the consequences of refusing to follow the proposed course of action.
• Retain this information for long enough to make a decision.
• Use or weigh this information as part of the process of making the decision.
• Communicate his or her decision.