For this reason, it is possible for a person to lack capacity to make certain types of decisions while retaining the capacity to make simpler decisions. Once it has been judged that someone lacks the capacity to make a decision, the first question to establish is whether a best interests decision is required. When a patient lacks decision-making capacity, the physician has an ethical responsibility to: Identify an appropriate surrogate to make decisions on the patient’s behalf: The person the patient designated as surrogate through a durable power of attorney for health care or other mechanism 'Impaired decision-making capacity’ is a term that can cause confusion because a person’s decision-making capacity relates to specific situations and is not a general state of being. The Mental Capacity Act 2005 is designed to protect and empower people who may lack capacity to make their own decisions about their care and treatment. The Mental Capacity Act and its code of practice provide guidance on this. The Mental Capacity Act states that a person lacks capacity if they are unable to make a specific decision, at a specific time, because of an impairment of, or disturbance, in the functioning of mind or brain. If someone can make a decision for themselves, they can be said to have the mental capacity to make that decision. The patient may also influence decisions after losing capacity through granting a Lasting Power of Attorney, 1 empowering the person they have chosen to make healthcare decisions on their behalf in their best interests when they lack capacity. A lack of capacity cannot be established merely because of a person's age, appearance, condition or an aspect of their behaviour. If a person lacks capacity to make a particular decision and they have not made an LPA or advance decision, it may be necessary to apply to the Court of Protection to make the decision in the person’s best interests. Here are some examples: People who are intoxicated, delirious, comatose, severely depressed, agitated, or otherwise impaired are likely to lack the capacity to make health care decisions but may later regain that capacity. What makes the MCA 2005 unworkable is if someone lacks capacity advocates and Judges “can” pressure the person to make decisions which is against their families and turn them against {as was the case} but in reality, the person “lacks capacity” if assessed later on. You can make decisions for someone who lacks capacity if they’ve previously appointed you as their attorney through a Lasting Power of Attorney for Health and Welfare (LPA) or Welfare Power of Attorney if you live in Scotland.. Even so, some people will be able to make decisions for themselves at certain other times in the future (e.g. Adults aged 18 or over with the capacity to make decisions are able to make provision for the event that sometime in the future they may lack capacity to make certain decisions. Who can make decisions for someone who lacks capacity? In the UK, if a person lacks capacity to make their own medical or social decisions, the Mental Capacity Act mandates that (except when a valid advanced directive is in place) a relative who has been given lasting power of attorney makes such decisions. A person must be assumed to have capacity unless it is established that he lacks capacity. This factsheet sets out the things to look for when assessing the capacity of a patient. A FREE 30 minute E-learning based on the Capacity Toolkit has been designed for professionals who work with people with decision-making disabilities in legal, health, finance, social work and for carers. If a person with dementia is able to make the decision for themselves, they can choose whether to have the vaccine or not. The MCA also protects people who need family, friends, or paid support staff to make decisions for them because they lack capacity to make specific decisions. They should support people even if they make a decision that they may disagree with. A Statutory Will can only be made when someone lacks the mental capacity to execute a normal Last Will for himself. The Mental Capacity Act 2005 sets out five ‘statutory principles’: a person must be assumed to have capacity unless it is established that they lack capacity Where a number of decisions need to be made on an ongoing basis the Court may appoint a Deputy to act on that person’s behalf. The Mental Capacity Act 2005 provides the legal framework for making decisions on behalf of people who lack the mental capacity to make decisions themselves. These Wills are known as Statutory Wills. In comparison, some decisions may be relatively straightforward. A clear framework for your decision-making process. Opinion 2.1.2, “Decisions for Adult Patients Who Lack Capacity,” explains that “Even when a medical condition or disorder impairs a patient’s decision-making capacity, the patient may still be able to participate in some aspects of decision making. You can make an advance statement or advance decision about your wishes for treatment and care in case you lose capacity in the future. Has a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) been made since 1 October 2007? If you are in doubt as to whether someone can make a particular decision, you will need to assess whether they have this capacity. The MCA sets out who can make decisions for you if you lack capacity. The Mental Capacity Act 2005 (the Act) provides the legal framework for acting and making decisions on behalf of individuals who lack the mental capacity to make particular decisions for themselves.