Mental Capacity in Durham
This tri.x resource will support all practitioners to understand the Act and practice confidently when supporting people to make decisions, assessing mental capacity and applying the Best Interests principle. It covers the following areas and includes a whole host of trusted online resources to support understanding and implementation of the Act and legal literacy:
- Introduction and Keywords;
- Understanding the Mental Capacity Act 2005;
- Supporting People to Make Decisions and Assessing Capacity;
- Making Best Interest Decisions;
- The Court of Protection;
- Understanding Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards;
- Lin to the Full Act;
- Links to the Codes of Practice.
See: Mental Capacity Act 2005 Resource and Practice Toolkit.
Within Adult and Health Services, it has been clarified by Senior Management that only qualified staff (Social Workers, Care Co-ordinators, Occupational Therapists) can act as a Decision Maker in relation to formal assessments of mental capacity. Social Work Assistants may have an important role in terms of supporting the person through the process and/or in recognising the need for a mental capacity assessment and decision-making under the Act.
You should record what the decision to be made is. On Azeus there is a list of types of decision, they are:
- Care and support;
- Conduct of proceedings;
- Contact;
- Contraception;
- Deprivation of liberty;
- Finance;
- Holiday/vacation;
- Marriage;
- Property and affairs;
- Residence;
- Safeguarding;
- Sexual relations;
- Tenancy;
- Testamentary capacity;
- Use of social media;
- Other.
Note: When using 'other' you will be required to specify the decision.
If the person lacks capacity to manage their finances and has no one who is able or willing to act the Local Authority may need to apply to become appointee or deputy. The Deputy and Appointee Team (DAT) should be contacted in these instances to discuss. Where there is already a Lasting Power of Attorney or deputy for property or financial affairs, they will be the decision maker.
In all cases consideration should be given as to whether advice should be sought from legal services.
Recordings should detail consideration of available options using a balance sheet approach, to analyse the benefits and burdens (pros and cons) of each available option.
Last Updated: November 22, 2023
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