scholarly journals Review of the Mental Capacity Act 2005

2005 ◽  
Vol 29 (11) ◽  
pp. 423-427 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rowena Jones
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Community Care ◽  
Mental Capacity ◽  
Mental Capacity Act 2005 ◽  
Mental Capacity Act ◽  
Successes And Failures

An incapacity to make decisions can crucially affect quality of life. Those who lack capacity are vulnerable to abuse from others, ranging from overpaternalism to exploitation, neglect and violence. Historically, those lacking capacity have not been served well by statutory services, with institutionalisation being commonplace. Community care has had its successes and failures; although care provided is often well intentioned and of good quality, abuses of power and trust continue to occur.

scholarly journals Understanding community care law in England and Wales

2009 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 428-433 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danny Allen
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Community Care ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Mental Capacity ◽  
Care Provision ◽  
Care Programme ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
Mental Capacity Act 2005 ◽  
Mental Capacity Act

SummaryAlthough psychiatrists in England and Wales are generally familiar with the Mental Health Act 1983 and the Mental Capacity Act 2005, there is a body of law that is available to assist patients in the community with which they are generally less familiar. There are two main reasons for this. The first is that it is a rather confused amalgam of different statutes and case law affecting each other in ways that are less than clear. The other is that the care programme approach (CPA) was meant to cut through all this and make care provision straightforward. In fact, the latter has never been the case and community care law has always sat uneasily alongside the CPA, but in October 2008 the CPA was withdrawn from some patients with mental health problems. This article explains what is meant by community care law and how psychiatrists can use it to help their patients.

scholarly journals National survey of training of psychiatrists on advance directives to refuse treatment in bipolar disorder

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (6) ◽  
pp. 320-324 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Morriss ◽  
Mohan Mudigonda ◽  
Peter Bartlett ◽  
Arun Chopra ◽  
Steven Jones
Keyword(s):  
Bipolar Disorder ◽  
National Survey ◽  
Role Play ◽  
Mental Capacity ◽  
Clinical Implications ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
Mental Capacity Act 2005 ◽  
Advance Decisions ◽  
Mental Capacity Act

Aims and methodTo determine features associated with better perceived quality of training for psychiatrists on advance decision-making in the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA), and whether the quality or amount of training were associated with positive attitudes or use of advance decisions to refuse treatment (ADRTs) by psychiatrists in people with bipolar disorder. An anonymised national survey of 650 trainee and consultant psychiatrists in England and Wales was performed.ResultsGood or better quality of training was associated with use of case summaries, role-play, ADRTs, assessment of mental capacity and its fluctuation. Good or better quality and two or more sessions of MCA training were associated with more positive attitudes and reported use of ADRTs, although many psychiatrists would never discuss them clinically with people with bipolar disorder.Clinical implicationsConsistent delivery of better-quality training is required for all psychiatrists to increase use of ADRTs in people with bipolar disorder.

Legal Regulation of Treatment for Depression

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hugh Series
Keyword(s):  
Legal Regulation ◽  
Mental Capacity ◽  
Medicinal Products ◽  
Over The Counter ◽  
Controlled Drugs ◽  
Treatment Of Depression ◽  
Mental Capacity Act 2005 ◽  
Incapacitated Patients ◽  
Mental Capacity Act ◽  
Over The Counter Medicines

This chapter reviews the legal regulation of treatment of depression as it exists in England and Wales, where medicinal products are regulated largely by the Medicines Act 1988 and the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. The Medicines Act divides medicinal products into pharmacy only medicines, which can only be purchased under the supervision of a pharmacist, over-the-counter medicines, and prescription only medicines. The Misuse of Drugs Act is concerned with controlled drugs. These are divided into three classes according to their perceived degree of harmfulness. This chapter considers treatment with valid consent and two pieces of legislation that govern people who are sufficiently ill and need to be admitted to hospital: the Mental Health Act 1983 (MHA) and the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). It also discusses treatment of mentally incapacitated patients and the issue of liberty regarding the admission of a compliant but incapacitated patient to hospital. Finally, it looks at three types of non-medical prescribing in England, issued by independent prescribers, supplementary prescribers, and community practitioners.

scholarly journals Disability and Vulnerability: Challenging the Capacity/Incapacity Binary

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 469-481 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beverley Clough
Keyword(s):  
Social Policy ◽  
Mental Capacity ◽  
Feminist Philosophy ◽  
Perceived Vulnerability ◽  
Law And Policy ◽  
Legal Literature ◽  
House Of Lords ◽  
Mental Capacity Act 2005 ◽  
Laws And Policies ◽  
Mental Capacity Act

This article engages with emerging debates in law and feminist philosophy around the concept of vulnerability. Central to this is the call to re-imagine and re-frame vulnerability as universal – as something which is experienced by all individuals, by virtue of their humanity and context as social beings. The implications of this for laws and policies predicated on groups or categories as ‘being vulnerable’ will be explored in this article, using the concept of mental capacity as an example of how the boundary between capacity and incapacity can be contested through this lens. The article will critically consider the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and associated literature, such as Court of Protection cases, the House of Lords Select Committee's post-legislative scrutiny and Serious Case Reviews, which demonstrate the growing concern about the inadequacy of the binary between capacity and incapacity. This in turn provokes a challenge to accepted wisdom in the context of disability more broadly, inviting us to think in particular about the responses to perceived vulnerability that are currently deemed appropriate. Insights from the legal literature invite further exchanges with social policy theorists as to the concept of vulnerability and its challenges and implications for law and policy.

Capacity assessment under the Mental Capacity Act 2005: Delivering on the functional approach?

Legal Studies ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 464-491 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Donnelly
Keyword(s):  
Functional Approach ◽  
Mental Capacity ◽  
Assessment Process ◽  
Fundamental Aspect ◽  
Capacity Assessment ◽  
Substantial Impact ◽  
Degree Of Protection ◽  
Practical Operation ◽  
Mental Capacity Act 2005 ◽  
Mental Capacity Act

A fundamental aspect of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) is the statutory endorsement of a functional approach to capacity. In principle, this requires a separate assessment of capacity in respect of each decision to be made. Most capacity assessments take place at a non-judicial level, and, outside of day-to-day decisions, the most common assessors are likely to be healthcare professionals. This paper investigates the practical operation of the capacity assessment process at both judicial and non-judicial levels. It asks whether the process can deliver on the MCA's goal of preserving maximum decision-making freedom, while, at the same time, providing an appropriate degree of protection. It argues that assessors who are not legally trained encounter significant difficulties in carrying out the essentially legal task of assessing capacity. It also shows that assessors' values and biases, both professional and personal, are likely to impact on the conclusions reached. Having identified these difficulties, the paper considers their implications for the MCA's approach to capacity. It evaluates the attempts in the MCA itself to address assessors' limitations and argues that these will not have a substantial impact on the way in which capacity assessors operate. It considers other ways in which the quality of assessment could be improved and puts forward specific suggestions as to how greater assessor accountability can be delivered and increased rigour introduced to the capacity assessment process.

Family burden and quality of life of mothers of children and adolescents with mental retardation or borderline mental capacity

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (S1) ◽  
pp. S192-S192
Author(s):  
L. Utas Akhan
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
Mental Capacity ◽  
World Health ◽  
Family Burden ◽  
Disabled Children ◽  
World Health Organization Quality ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
The Family

IntroductionStudies have found that the cognitive function levels of intellectually challenged children add a burden to the family and affect quality of life.ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to determine the family burden felt by mothers of children, ages 6–16, whose mental capacity evaluation indicates an IQ of 35–79 to explore the mother's quality of life and discover the factors that yield an impact in this context.AimsThe main objective of this study therefore was to ascertain the family burden and quality of life experienced by the parents of children with mentally retarded or borderline mental capacity.MethodsThe WISC-R test was used in the research to determine the intellectual capacity of children, 6–16 years of age. The sample comprised 131 children and adolescents between the ages 6–16 with IQs in the interval of 35–79 and their mothers. The parents accompanying their children were assessed using the Family Burden Assessment Scale, the World Health Organization Quality of Life instrument and a sociodemographic questionnaire that was filled out during face-to-face interviews.ResultsThe quality of life of the mothers was found to be average. At the same time, as the IQ level of the children went up, the less the mothers felt they were under a family burden. It was seen that the mothers experienced the most difficulty in the domains of “perception of inadequacy” and “emotional burden.”ConclusionMothers with intellectually disabled children need psychosocial support. Providing all members of the family with counseling services to help them cope with the issues and responsibilities involved in the care of disabled children may make a significant difference in quality of life.Disclosure of interestThe author has not supplied his/her declaration of competing interest.

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