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Under the terms of the Mental Capacity Act 2005, you have a right to make your own decisions and must be assumed to have capacity to do so unless it is proved otherwise.
As your health deteriorates there may come a time when you no longer have the mental capacity to make decisions about your care or treatment. If this happens, your capacity will be assessed in relation to the specific decision that needs to be made. There is comprehensive guidance in the MCA for health care professionals to follow to ensure that your rights are protected.
If you have been assessed as lacking capacity then any action taken or any decision made on your behalf must be made in your best interests. The person who has to make the decision is known as the ‘decision maker’ and will normally be the carer responsible for day to day care or a professional such as a doctor, nurse or social worker where decisions about treatment, care arrangements or accommodation have to be made.
The law gives a checklist of key factors which must be considered when working out what is in the best interests of a person who lacks capacity. The MCA Code of Practice can be found here ![PDF]() .
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Best Interests at End of Life ![PDF]() provides practical guidance which is intended to assist those supporting people who lack capacitty to make their own decisions, whether they are day-to-day decisions or larger decisions. The document focuses its practice examples on the context of end of life care; however the practical tips and tools may be used to support contexts too.
This guidance aims to provide practice ideas and examples on how to use the best interest decision making framework from the act within care planning and other decisions in the context of end of life care.
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End of Life Care Strategy:
Best interest decision making
Under the terms of the Mental Capacity Act 2005, you have a right to make your own decisions and must be assumed to have capacity to do so unless it is proved otherwise.
As your health deteriorates there may come a time when you no longer have the mental capacity to make decisions about your care or treatment. If this happens, your capacity will be assessed in relation to the specific decision that needs to be made. There is comprehensive guidance in the MCA for health care professionals to follow to ensure that your rights are protected.
If you have been assessed as lacking capacity then any action taken or any decision made on your behalf must be made in your best interests. The person who has to make the decision is known as the ‘decision maker’ and will normally be the carer responsible for day to day care or a professional such as a doctor, nurse or social worker where decisions about treatment, care arrangements or accommodation have to be made.
The law gives a checklist of key factors which must be considered when working out what is in the best interests of a person who lacks capacity. The MCA Code of Practice can be found here![PDF]()
.
Best Interests at End of Life![PDF]()
provides practical guidance which is intended to assist those supporting people who lack capacitty to make their own decisions, whether they are day-to-day decisions or larger decisions. The document focuses its practice examples on the context of end of life care; however the practical tips and tools may be used to support contexts too.
This guidance aims to provide practice ideas and examples on how to use the best interest decision making framework from the act within care planning and other decisions in the context of end of life care.