Making decisions : helping people who have difficulty deciding for themselves : a guide for healthcare professionals.

  • Great Britain. Lord Chancellor's Department.
Date:
2003
Catalogue details

Licence: Open Government Licence

Credit: Making decisions : helping people who have difficulty deciding for themselves : a guide for healthcare professionals. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    » to witness a signature or otherwise certify a legal document; or » to give an opinion about a person's legal capacity which is relevant to court proceedings. How Is Capacity assessed? Doctors must consider whether the person has the necessary capacity to make each particular decision at the time that it has to be made. They must consider how much information to convey to the person and how to make the most of the abilities that the person has. Before giving an opinion, the healthcare professional should make every effort to help and support the person to maximise their potential to make their own decisions or at least to participate as fully as possible. For example, they should choose the best time and location for the assessment or allow the person sufficient time to become familiar with the issues concerning, or information relevant to, the decision. They should communicate the information in simple language or through the use of pictures and photos, for example where the person has a learning disability. Depression or low self-esteem can be common where people have other disabilities: this is not always recognised but it could affect a person’s capacity. A person with dementia may lack capacity at the time of one assessment but the result may be different if a second assessment is made during a lucid interval.