The Mental Capacity Act 2005 is a law about supporting and protecting vulnerable people who are unable to make their own decisions.
It applies to people aged 16 and over, and makes clear who can take decisions, in which situations, and how they should go about this. It also enables people to plan ahead for a time when they may lose the capacity to make decisions for themselves. It covers decisions such as financial, social care, medical treatment as well as everyday decisions.
We all have problems making decisions from time to time, but the Mental Capacity Act is about more than that. It is specifically designed to cover situations where someone is unable to make a decision because the way their mind or brain works is affected, for example, by illness or disability, or the effects of drugs or alcohol.
At the heart of the Act are the principles that everybody is assumed to be able to make their own decisions and that if they are finding this difficult, then they will receive help and support to help them make their decisions themselves.
The Act protects your rights to make choices about your life.
If you are unable to make decisions, the Act ensures that your wishes are kept central to any decision made on your behalf. Anybody making a decision on your behalf has to follow a process set out in law which is designed to protect your best interests.
You can plan in advance people who you would like to make decisions for you using lasting power of attorney for property and finance decisions and health and welfare decisions.
Any person that you appoint can be guided by you using any advance statements you make about your views or preferences, or an advance decision to refuse specific medical treatment.
If you have no family or friends that can be consulted about your best interest, then the Act provides for an independent advocate to be appointed on your behalf, to ensure that your views are heard.
At its simplest, the Mental Capacity Act 2005 is a law that makes sure that you are at the heart of any decision made about yourself.
The Devon and Torbay Safeguarding Adults Boards have produced nine videos to further support the information available on this site.
You can find the full Mental Capacity Act on the government’s legislation web site.
The mental health charity Mind has produced a useful summary about the Mental Capacity Act.