Decision-Making Capacity

Besides, if a person lacks mental capacity to give valid consent, nurses caring for such a person should be involved in assessing the treatment to be administered. However, they must be “aware of the legislation regarding mental capacity, ensuring that people who lack capacity remain at the centre of decision making and are fully safeguarded.”6 The Mental Capacity Act (2005) offers assistance regarding ‘capacity’. The Act applies to all aged 16 and above and to those with learning disability, dementia, brain injury, autism and mental health issues.

4. Made by a person with legal capacity - Competency is “the ability to perform a job.” In normal conditions this part mentions to an adult of complete mind who is able to pass the three tests defined above. Those considered not legally capable would include minors, and those who are so physiologically or psychologically troubled, they do not validate the ability to make informed judgements(Steer,

Dimond (2009) and NHS choices (2016) explained consent as the process involving a person giving their approval to accept or refuse a treatment or interventions, after receiving detailed information from a health care professional about the risk or benefits of the procedure. In order for consent to be deemed valid, it needs to be given voluntarily without any influence or pressure from either a family member or clinician. In addition, the capacity of the person is important when giving consent and the ability to process the given information and make a decision. Tingle &Cribb (2014) agree, emphasizing that the autonomy of the person giving

Consent for medical treatment is based on three legal ideals: the patient must be informed to make a decision, the patient cannot be intimidated into making a decision, and the patient must be competent (McCabe). In 1982, a study was held by Weithorn and Campbell showing the competency of four age groups (9,14,18, and 21 years-old) based on questions from the ideals aforementioned. The study concluded that fourteen year-olds’ competence and adult are analogous, while nine year-olds could partake in discussions based off of their treatment (Weithorn). The study conducted by Weithorn and Campbell, not only displays competence, but also the ability to comprehend the possible outcomes, and determine the importance of these possible outcomes relative to their own lives. With studies showing that at the age of fourteen the decisional capacity (prefrontal cortex) of the human brain is equal to that of an eighteen year-old, the legal age of consent must be lowered to fourteen years of age.

Patient's decision-making is influenced by several factors. Patients may change their decisions, from accepting or refusing treatment depending on the available treatment options. The capacity of the individual to make informed medical decisions can differ as the patient's status changes cognitively, emotionally, and/or physically and as the proposed treatment interventions change. Treatment refusal is a common situation faced by clinicians. Patients do not usually refuse the medical advice if the advice is of good intention. When patients refuse an advice, it indicates some underlying reasons related to the patients or family, factors associated with the physician as well as social and organizational issues.

This has led to a legal doctrine on informed consent, shared by most common law jurisdictions, which strongly promotes the respect of the patient’s legal right and personal autonomy to make informed decisions. As clearly articulated by Lord Steyn in 2004 on his verdict on the case of Chester v Afshar; ’In modern law, medical paternalism no longer rules and a patient has a prima facie right to be

The term “consent capacity” describes an adult’s ability to understand information relevant to making an informed, voluntary decision. A wide variety of diseases, disorders, conditions, and injuries can affect a person’s ability to understand such information.

B. Do patients have the rights to make decisions with informed consents? The wellbeing of the patients is the main priority. What are the overall health risks and what are the benefits? Respecting the patients’ rights is bases on personal belief. It is also based on the understanding of that individual’s thoughts and or fears of what is the best option for them. Where is the physician and do we have complete confidence in his thoughts and does he have confidence is the ability of the patient to make this decision.

If the individual has the capacity to form a voluntary and informed decision to consent to or refuse treatment, their decision must be respected. This will stand even if the individual is refusing treatment and

The case study refers to the importance of gaining consent as a health care provider. If consent is not given by a competent adult (either the patient or a parent/guardian) then the patient has the right to sue for negligence as they have suffered because of treatment being conducted

Medical consent is the act, in healthcare, of informing patients of disease processes, its natural history and treatments or observation of such. Consent involves competing values of patient autonomy versus provider paternalism and much of the ethical controversy resides here. Consent is commonly written, but may be oral or implied, and is often supported with decision aids such as written materials, videos, etc.

the service user capacity to consent is being affected by their physical and or mental health needs.

Informed consent is a communication process and represents a patients’ right to participate in the clinical decisions regarding their medical treatment, including the right to choose non-treatment (Brock & Mastroianni,

For a patient to make his decision he/she must able to read the consent and understand it before making any decision. The great thing about the consent form are that they are written

In a study where doctors and patients were administered surveys asking what decisions they would make in regards to medical treatment following a diagnosis, the doctor’s answered what they would recommend to their patients and then what they thought their patients would choose themselves. In general, the doctors selected a more conservative medical treatment for their choice for patients and a riskier medical treatment for what they believed patients should choose for themselves. 93% of them reported they did so due to fear of legal consequences (Planck, 2014).