Mental Capacity Act 2005 Essay

The Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA 2005) introduced a statutory framework for advance decision making in England and Wales building upon the common law recognition of advance decisions. Academics considered that a bias may operate against upholding advance decisions refusing life-sustaining treatment 1. It’s commonly felt that judges usually give decisions favouring preservation of life and making advance decisions invalid on various grounds. Recent case-law indicates that a high level of specificity is required for advance refusals of life-sustaining treatment and, in some capacity must be demonstrated at the time of making the decision. This essay will argue the legal back ground of the advance decisions and relevant case law. There are suggestions that advance care planning (ACP) instead of advance decisions (ADRT) may be more helpful when it comes to the practice of law on ground 2.

It is therefore fair to say that adults with learning disabilities health and social wellbeing is severely compromised when they come in contact with the justice system with little seeming to work properly, leaving these vulnerable individuals open to all sorts of abuse.

The Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 states that “an act done, or decision made, under this Act, for or on behalf of a person who lacks capacity must be done, or made, in his best interests’. The Deprivation of liberty safeguards are a legal framework introduced into the mental capacity act 2005 (MCA) by the mental health act 2007 (MHA). This legislation protects the rights of people in care homes or hospitals, where the care is imputable to the state, who lack capacity or have a mental dysfunction to make decisions regarding their care and treatment (Jones, 2008 p 383). DOLS ensures against arbitrary deprivation of liberty (dol) which was identified in the Bournewood Case ( HL v UK 45508/99 (2004) ECHR 471). The judgement in this case determined that in order to adhere to the ECtHR, lawful detention needed to meet Article 5 (1) that requires a ‘procedure prescribed by law’ and Article 5 (4) which requires a means to apply to a court to see if deprivation of liberty was unlawful (dols code of practice 2008). As such, the DOLs are designed to protect the rights of people who fall within the scope of the act.

Legislation ensures support is put in place to help with financial and physical needs. Helps ensure action is taken against people who discriminate others. Helps to recognise a person’s disability and ensures they have access to the same resources and activities that a person without disabilities has access to. Also makes it against the law to discriminate against people with a disability.

The Mental Capacity Act is legislation which increases the legal rights of the person with dementia to be involved in decisions about their own health and care. The Act also means that when somebody no longer has the mental capacity to be involved in decision making themselves, their carer will have the right to be consulted about decisions being made on behalf of the person with

 Mental Capacity Act 2005 – The MCA applies to England and Wales. The primary purpose of the MCA is to promote and safeguard decision-making within a legal framework. It does this in two ways: * By empowering people to make decisions for themselves wherever possible and by protecting people who lack capacity by providing a flexible framework that places individuals at the heart of the decision making process * By allowing people to plan ahead for a time in the future when they might lack the capacity for any number of reasons

| The Mental Capacity Act 2005 prevents people who lack mental capacity from being mistreated or wilfully neglected.

The key legislations include , Human Rights Act 1998 , Mental Capacity Act 2005 , Adults and Incapacity Act 2000 , Mental Health Act 1995 , Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 and Carers Equal Opportunities Act 2004.Each and every

We all want to be treated with dignity and it is a very important part of an individual’s life. Working in the health and social care profession it is important to help people maintain their dignity so they can keep their sense of self-respect and self-worth. All health and social care professionals should be sensitive and aware of the needs of people and service users. Just because a person has dementia, they still need to be given a choice and not assume that they cannot make a choice. Not everybody is the same, there are different levels of dementia, so getting to know the service user is vital to challenge discrimination. We also need to make sure that the service user or their families are aware of the complaints procedure. Having policies and procedures are put in place and that staff are up to date on their training.

Are all laws put into place to help protect an individual from abuse whilst ensuring they can still for fill their right and maintain a sense of individuality. If the person is in care the organisation will have policy’s and procedures in place to risk asses and ensure the protection of the carers, organisation and the individual from danger, harm and abuse.

My chosen reflection piece is on ageism, see appendix one. I will provide evidence reflecting the links between diabetes and depression, which will form my chosen seminar topic, see appendix two. I will then critically analyze the mental capacity Act (2005) and relate it to my specific scenario, see appendix three. I will explore how nurses the Act within nursing practice, decision- making, and how we access a person’s capacity to make specific decisions. I will explore any ethical issues that may arise following the principles of Mental Capacity Act (2005).

This act is made to help protect those who are unable to make decisions for them. This could be due to a mental health condition, a learning difficulty or a brain injury. The purpose of this act is to allow adults to make as many decisions for them as possible. For example, somebody with dementia might make a decision about whether they want future medical treatment or not. This act links to people who are suffering with dementia as within the later stages of dementia they are unable to make decisions for themselves and consequently, the Mental Capacity Act ensures that the individual has somebody to make the decisions for them.

Valuing People (Department of Health 2001) it was introduced by the labour government who were keen to promote independent living. This white paper on learning disabilities was for the first in England in 30 years. It made direct payments available to more people with a learning disability and was the first paper where we officially come across the term ‘Person Centred Planning’. It stresses the importance of Personal Centred Planning in helping people with learning difficulties take charge of their own lives. This paper has been ‘refreshed’ in 2009 titling it Value People Now and is a new three year strategy for people with learning disabilities, and will lead to better lives for people.

Article 4 of the act intrigues to me because of the language used to change the fact that it could come across as discrimination. Impairment in other words means ‘abnormality’ which could come across as belligerent to those who suffer with psychological disorders, this then would present them as ‘lesser’ and therefore more likely to prejudice comments. However the word ‘impairment’ implies that someone isn’t able to lead a normal life and in some cases that is untrue. Recently the government has canvassed through radio and posters to convince the public that there is nothing wrong with having any psychological disorders, and these people shouldn’t be marginalised. Some people use the word ‘mental disorder’ when describing someone with a mental health problem because it again leads these people to be marginalised and have prejudice thoughts about them all the time. Additionally, these certain people do have amazing talents, have successful lives and have a normal life because their society has been taught different.

This Act intended to do away with the discriminations that were present in the previous Act with respect to sharing of benefits in relation to non-disabled persons. It also aimed at putting a stop on abuse and exploitation of persons with disability (PWD). It required the government to carry out inclusive development plans that would help in the integration of PWD in social mainstream. Under this, mental retardation and mental illness are categorized as conditions of disabilities. Therefore, person with mental illness were eligible for the benefits available to persons with disability. After this came the National Trust Act, 1999; this was enacted for the welfare of persons with autism, cerebral palsy, mental retardation and multiple disabilities. The Act aimed to empower these people and make it possible for them to live as independently as possible and live closely and within the community they belong to so that they can have equal access to the various opportunities, further enabling them to protect their rights .