Consent And Mental Capacity

The presumption is that an adult has capacity to make decisions unless there is reason to think otherwise. Where there is reason to doubt, then a mental capacity assessment needs to be completed and where the outcome is that the person lacks capacity, a best interest’s decision must be made about whether it is appropriate to share information.

An adult may have capacity to make certain decisions on one occasion but not on another, as capacity may fluctuate, or one scenario may be more complex than another. Therefore, if an adult lacks capacity to decide on one occasion, it does not necessarily follow the same decision would be made on another occasion. It should be checked if a new decision should be made.