Mental Capacity and Palliative Care

Mental capacity is everyone’s business. Practitioners at every level in all sectors need to understand the principles of mental capacity in practice, and the particular aspects of any legislation in their own jurisdiction. More senior clinicians tend to be less confident in mental capacity assessment than younger clinicians who may have had some training in their undergraduate and early postgraduate years. This chapter uses the Mental Capacity Act 2005 for England and Wales (Mental Capacity Act 2005. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2005/9/contents ) as a basis from which to describe legal requirements. It outlines the main principles of mental capacity and illustrates elements that may influence capacity. It outlines steps in the assessment of capacity and demonstrates the challenges faced by the person whose capacity is being assessed. It touches briefly on advance directives and provides guidance on what to do when a person is shown to lack capacity for a decision and those with responsibility for their care must take the decision in the person’s best interests.