The Mental Capacity Act
CSIP and the Mental Capacity Act 2005
The Mental Capacity Act 2005 was implemented in October 2007. The Independent Mental Capacity Advocate (IMCA) service and its supporting pieces of legislation went live in April 2008.
CSIP was tasked with the role of supporting, instructing and providing information to the various agencies responsible for implementing this new ‘high impact’ piece of legislation. The CSIP lead in the West Midlands responsible for this is Colin Vines with administrative support is provided by Felicity Love.
Unusually for legislation the Act is underpinned by a set of five core principles. These principles guide the entire piece of legislation and any action that is undertaken under its jurisdiction.
These principles are thus:
- A presumption of capacity: a person is presumed to have capacity until proven otherwise
- Individuals have the right to be supported in making their own decisions: all support possible must be offered to enable the person to make decisions for themselves before it is concluded that they are unable to do so
- Unwise or ‘eccentric’ decisions are not an indication that someone lacks capacity: after all, we all make bad decisions everyday.
- Anything done for or on behalf of an individual without capacity must be in their best interests
- Anything done for or on behalf of an individual without capacity must be the least restrictive option
The Act will affect a significant number of people, not just those within Mental Health.
Click the link below to the Public Guardian Office website where you will find electronic versions of the forms and guidance relating to Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs) and draft forms and guidance regarding applications to the Court of Protection:
http://www.guardianship.gov.uk/formsdocuments/forms.htm
Click here for various downloadable documents and useful websites.