2949R.GP The Mental Capacity Act (Thurrock MCA)
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Everyday, you make decisions
about the clothes you wear,
the food you eat and what you do.
Sometimes though, you will be
asked to make harder decisions
about the care and
treatment that you receive.
Therefore, it is important that you know that there are some safeguards
that protect you and support available to help you.
Firstly, there is a law called the Mental Capacity Act 2005
which says that the people who
care for you must assume
that you can make
decisions for yourself
unless it has been
proven that you can't.
This means that people
shouldn’t be making a decision
for you unless you have
given them permission,
or they have shown that you can't make the decision for yourself.
Secondly, the law says that you must be given all the practical support
and information you need to
help you make a decision.
So, if you want more information
before you decide, ask for it.
And if you want the information explained in a different way,
perhaps by using a simpler document, or a translator,
or by somebody else,
again you should ask to
be helped in these ways.
Sometimes, the people that care for you may have to conclude that you
can't make the decision for yourself.
They will ask themselves:
Do you understand?
Can you remember the information long enough to make a decision?
Can you use that
information to reach a decision?
And can you communicate
your decision?
If you can’t, then somebody else
will need to decide for you.
This may be your carer, your doctor or a member of your family.
If they are going to
make a decision for you,
they need to think
about what is best for you.
This is called a
‘best interest decision’.
They need to think about what you would want or like, and whether you
have any beliefs that
may influence your decision,
such as your religion.
And when they have decided, they must always stop and ask themselves
whether they could do
something else that would
interfere less with your
basic rights and freedoms.
For example, they may
decide that it would be
unsafe for you to go to the shops.
But perhaps they could go with you so that you can still go out.
If you are concerned that
in the future, you might not
be able to make decision for yourself
you can nominate someone
to make decisions on your behalf.
More information about
this can be obtained from
the Office of the Public Guardian.
For more information on the Mental Capacity Act 2005 please contact us
on the phone number or website shown at the end of the video.