About The Mental Capacity Act 2005
The Mental Capacity Act 2005 makes it clear that a diagnosis alone (e.g. dementia) does not necessarily mean that a person lacks capacity to make decisions.
Capacity is decision and time specific, so a person may have the capacity to make decisions about taking their medications for example, but not about how they budget.
A person living with dementia may be more confused in the evenings if they exhibit ‘sundowning’, so they may lack capacity for a particular decision if an assessment is done then but not if done in the morning.
The Mental Capacity Act makes it clear that all practical steps are taken to help and support the person in their decision making. A person must be assumed to have capacity unless an assessment of mental capacity demonstrates otherwise.
The mental capacity assessment as defined in the Mental Capacity Act first requires evidence of a disorder or impairment of the mind or brain which causes a person to be unable to make decisions. An actual diagnosis is not required. The second part of the capacity assessment involves assessing if the individual can understand, retain, weigh up and use and communicate the information relevant to the decision being assessed. Communication about the decision needs to be tailored to the individual, with aids used if needed.