Mental Capacity Act 2005
What is the Mental Capacity Act?
The Mental Capacity Act 2005 is a law that protects people who may lack capacity to make some decisions for themselves. It makes clear who can take decisions, in which situations and how they should go about doing this. It also allows for people to plan ahead if they think they may lack capacity in the future.
People may have difficulty making some decisions because they have for example, a learning disability, dementia, a mental health problem, a brain injury or a stroke.
What does the Mental Capacity Act say?
The Act sets out five key rules that must be followed by anyone who is supporting a person who may lack capacity:
- All adults have the right to make decisions for themselves unless it is shown that they are unable to do so.
- People should be supported as much as possible to make their own decisions before anyone concludes that they cannot make their own decisions.
- People are allowed to make a decision that may seem to other people to be an unwise or strange decision.
- If a person lacks capacity any decisions or actions taken on their behalf must be taken in their best interest
- Anything done on behalf of people lacking capacity should be the least restrictive of their basic rights and freedoms.
The Act introduces a number of important safeguards to protect people who lack capacity including the requirement that an Independent Mental Capacity Advocate (IMCA) is in place to help people who lack the capacity to make important decisions about serious medical treatment and/or changes in accommodation.
All Local Authorities with Social Service Responsibility, Health Trusts and Primary Care Trusts are legally required to jointly commission an Independent Mental Capacity Advocacy Service.
Independent Mental Capacity Advocates
An Advocate is someone who speaks and/or acts on behalf of people to secure the services they need and the rights to which they are entitled. They make sure that people's opinions, wishes or needs are expressed and listened to.
The purpose of the Independent Mental Capacity Advocate (IMCA) service is to protect particularly vulnerable people who lack capacity to make important decisions about serious medical treatment and changes to accommodation where they have no friends or relatives that it would be appropriate to consult about a particular decision.
People who may require an IMCA are:
- a person with severe learning disabilities
- a person with Dementia
- a person with a serious head injury
- a person with a mental health problem
Barnet Council has contracted VoiceAbility to provide this advocacy service in the borough. Anyone within the Local Authority or local healthcare service who is involved in making important decisions for people who lack mental capacity, and who do not have representative to support them, must contact this service for independent advocacy support. For more information about their services, contact VoiceAbility:
- Tel: 0845 0175 198
- Email: imca@voiceability.org
- Website: www.voiceability.org
The Mental Capacity Act Deprivation of Liberty safeguards
The Mental Capacity Act Deprivation of Liberty safeguards were introduced into the Mental Capacity Act 2005 through the Mental Health Act 2007. The aim is to implement the safeguards in April 2009.
These safeguards will apply to anyone aged 18 or over:
- who suffers from a mental health problem or disability of the mind – such as dementia or a profound learning disability
- who lacks the capacity to give informed consent to the arrangements made for their care and / or treatment and
- for whom deprivation of liberty is considered after an independent assessment to be necessary in their best interests to protect them from harm.
The safeguards cover patients in hospitals, and people in care homes registered under the Care Standards Act 2000, whether placed under public or private arrangements. See the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards page for more information.
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Email this pageLast modified by: Neha Shah on 25/10/2011