DementiaRoadmap

The Mental Capacity Act 2005 came into force in 2007 and affects all those working in health and social care involved in caring for people over the age of 16 who are unable to make some or all decisions for themselves.

Download the Mental Capacity Act 2005

Read the Mental Capacity Act 2005 online

There are 5 main principles under the Act:

• That a person is assumed to have capacity to make a decision until it is proven otherwise.
• Every effort should be made to encourage and support people to make decisions for themselves.
• People have the right to make unwise or eccentric decisions.
• If a person lacks capacity then any decision made must be in that person’s best interests.
• Decisions made on behalf of a person who lacks capacity must favour the least restrictive option, in terms of the person’s rights and freedoms. This applies, for example, to decisions around where a person who lacks capacity should live.

Having assessed someone’s capacity the practitioner involved may check the quality of their assessment using an audit tool.