Mental capacity is essentially the ability of a person to make decisions for themselves. If someone loses their mental capacity, there is protection available in the form of the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
The Act
The Mental Capacity Act 2005 is the legal framework designed to protect people and their rights in the event of a loss of mental capacity. It can form the basis of legal cases involving mental capacity taken on by a London law firm such as www.forsters.co.uk.
The act stipulates that you are presumed to have mental capacity unless you cannot understand the information relating to a decision, remember the information mentally, use relevant information to help make a decision, or communicate what a decision is.
Loss of mental capacity
Mental capacity can be lost for a variety of reasons and may be a short-term or long-term loss. For example, a traumatic injury could cause a temporary loss of capacity, while learning disabilities or dementia, for example, could result in permanent loss of capacity. Simply having a mental illness or being diagnosed as having dementia doesn’t automatically mean that someone lacks mental capacity.
Even a person who is detained under the Mental Health Act cannot automatically be deemed to have a lack of mental capacity, nor can someone who simply makes bad decisions.
Health professionals can assess whether someone has the mental capacity needed to make a certain decision, and the Mental Capacity Act stipulates who can make decisions on behalf of an individual if it is deemed that they do lack capacity.