capacity and consent

Question 1

consent

Answer 1

must be freely given and fully informed.

Question 2

right to refuse

Answer 2

ensure all information is given and understood. Give them time to process the information, and make them aware that they can change their mind at any point. find alternatives if possible.

Question 3

young person

Answer 3

Young people (aged 16 or 17) should be encouraged to involve their parents in making important medical decisions. However, they are presumed, in law, to have the capacity to decide on, and give consent for, their own medical treatment, unless there is evidence to the contrary. Even if the young person has capacity, their parents may be able to override their decision if it is in the young person’s best interests. This is, however, dependent on where you live in the UK, and is very complex. overruled by the Court of Protection in exceptional circumstances

Question 4

Gillick competent.

Answer 4

Children under the age of 16 can consent to their own treatment if they are believed to have sufficient capacity to fully understand what is involved in their treatment.

Question 5

Capacity

Answer 5

Capacity can be defined as ‘the ability to use and understand information to make a decision, and communicate any decision made’.

A person lacks capacity if ‘their mind is impaired or disturbed in some way, which means they’re unable to make a decision at that time’. Can change.

Question 5

lack of capacity could be due to:

Answer 5

MH
Dementia
Brain injury
a learning disability
alcohol/drug abuse
side effects of medical treatment
other illness or disability

Question 5

mca1

Answer 5

is for big decicions like surgery not small de

Question 6

MENTAL CAPACITY ACT 16+

Answer 6

MUST BE ASSUMED TO HAVE TILL PROVEN OTHERWISE.
MUST NOT BE ASSUMED UNTIL ALL STEPS TO HELP HAVE BEEN TAKEN WITHOUT SUCCESS. UNWISE =/= UNABLE.
ANY DECISION MUST BE IN BEST INTEREST.
LEAST RESTRICTIVE WAY OF RIGHTS AND FREEDOM

Question 6

assessing capacity

Answer 6

Understand information given to them.

Retain that information long enough to be able to make the decision.

Weigh up the information available to make the decision.

Communicate their decision – this could be by talking, using sign language or even simple muscle movements such as blinking or squeezing a hand.